


Silas City

by kitkarnstein



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - Fandom
Genre: AU, Baker!Perry, Carmilla AU, F/F, F/M, Laura/Kirsch brotp, M/M, Other, Silas - Freeform, Superheroes, Superheros, Supervillain, Villain!Carmilla, Zeta Society - Freeform, Zeta Society BrOTP, danny/kirsch brotp, hero - Freeform, hero!Laura, kirsch/carmilla brotp, shau, silas city, superhero, superhero au, villain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-04-26 23:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5023981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkarnstein/pseuds/kitkarnstein
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Silas City in not-so-picturesque Styria, where nothing, not even evil wreaking havoc, disturbs the pursuit of justice.<br/>But under the surface of this placid city, you'll find crime after crime. </p><p>(Or)</p><p> The one where the tiny ball of dorkiness that is Laura is a superhero, and Carmilla is a supervillain. </p><p>based on the following prompt:<br/>"a superhero story where the villain and the superhero are roommates and they keep making excuses to each other about why they are out all the time and they stitch each other up after battles but neither has any idea that the other is their nemesis and they keep on having to lie to each other about why they are covered in scratches and bruises</p><p>plot twist: they're also attracted to each other/dating"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Roommate

**Author's Note:**

> HI!  
> It's my first time writing about superheros so... wish me luck! This was fun to write, so I hope it's at least decent  
> Thank you so much for reading!  
> Comments and kudos would be greatly (extremely) appreciated  
> ~Kit ^-^  
> Tumblr: 8kit  
> 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty's missing, Carmilla's mean, and Lafontaine is awesome.
> 
> This chapter is sort of pretty really similar to the show in lots of the dialogue, but the rest of the story becomes super off it. It's just when I first started writing it helped begin like this, but then I totally went off into my plot and my own stuff, if that makes any sense?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the superhero au nobody asked for!
> 
> ~Kit

_**Chapter 1: The Roommate** _

_Silas City in not-so-picturesque Styria, where nothing, not even evil wreaking havoc, disturbs the pursuit of justice. But under the surface of this placid city, you’ll find crime after crime. Just last week, an innocent pedestrian was assaulted in the dead of the night, not by a thief, but by a woman who the victim claimed was literally glowing in the dark. The Silas City Police Department have found prints of what seem to be scal-_

"I swear that freaking Weasel has the power to irritate everyone in a thirty foot radius. And he fucking _bit_ me," the door closed shut as Laura's roommate walked in.

Laura Hollis--who's secret hero identity was Velocity-- stopped her rapid (*cough cough* superspeed) typing on the laptop keyboard to look up and smile at her friend. Betty Spielsdorf had been Laura's friend since they were in elementary school, and had become Swift--Laura's sidekick extraordinaire-- a few years ago.

"Anyway, we should totally go out and celebrate," Betty proposed, taking a seat on her bed, which was situated right beside Laura's desk.

"Celebrate? Celebrate what?" Laura furrowed her eyebrows.

"We finally kicked Weasel's furry little ass! That's cause for celebration! And you need to live a little. What are you doing right now?"

Laura glanced at her laptop screen. "My article on that glow-in-the-dark villain for the Silas Herald. It's due on Monday."

Betty shook her head, "No. No, no, no, no, no. SJ's party's right now, ‘kay? It's 6pm on a _Friday_. You can finish that article on the Human Glowstick tomorrow."

"Bets, you know we can't be sure when we'll have free time, we don't know when someone might need our help, and I really need to finish this artic-"

"Come _on_. Let's have some fun... LaF, Perry, and Danny are gonna be there. Come with me, please?" Betty pouted.

Laura looked at her laptop and then back at Betty's pleading eyes. She guessed a few hours out wouldn't hurt. Plus, SJ did throw some pretty fun parties...

"Okay, fine, I'll go," Laura sighed.

Betty grinned. "Yes! Now come on, let's get you into something cute!"

* * *

 

**THE MORNING AFTER**

Laura woke with a slight headache, but fortunately it was nothing she couldn't handle. She stretched out her arms as she sat up in bed, and remembered how Betty got more than a little drunk the night before.

 _Let’s just do a little before and after, shall we?_  
"And how is the Jaegar bombinatrix doing this morning?" Laura yanked the sheets off Betty's mattress and frowned in confusion when she saw an empty bed instead of her blonde roommate.

"Betty? Is this some kind of a joke?" she called out. She heard shuffling coming from somewhere in the apartment and stumbled over to her nightstand, taking out a can of bear spray her father had given her years ago (superhuman or not, sometimes things like bear spray came in handy).

"Hey, L--woah! Not a bear!"

Laura sheepishly lowered her can of bear spray at the sight of her friend LaFontaine at the doorway of her bedroom. Laura had forgotten about the copy of her apartment key that she had given LaF and Perry. LaFontaine (a very kind biologist) and their girlfriend Perry (a very caring landlord and bakery owner) had been really good friends of Laura's ever since she moved in three years ago.  
"Good morning LaF. Hadn't seen you in a while. I missed you!"

LaF smiled at their tiny friend. "Same here, L. Sidenote: you planning on invading a bear sanctuary?"

"My dad’s really into personal protection," Laura shrugged, setting the can of bear on her nightstand.

"I can see that," LaFontaine gave the small girl an amused smile.

"Yeah," Laura's smile turned into a frown as she looked at Betty's empty bed. "Hey, have you seen Betty around?"

"About that," LaFontaine rubbed the back of their neck anxiously. "Perry and I found you on a park bench last night, without Betty. Which is weird since you left from the party together and all. We tried calling her and her frat boy friends about a dozen times and looked around for her but... nothing. I think she's missing."

* * *

 

**APPROXIMATELY 4 MONTHS LATER**

Laura sighed as she skimmed through yet another article on the disappearance of Swift, aka Betty Spielsdorf. Betty Spielsdorf, her sidekick and childhood friend. After 4 months, Laura had absolutely no clue as to her friend's whereabouts, but there was no way in Hell or Hogwarts that she was giving up. She was going to find out where she was. And if it turned out that Betty was... dead, well Laura was going to uncover who did it, no matter how long it took. She would. It'd eat her up inside if she didn't.

Fortunately, Laura thought, she had more than enough to keep her occupied and away from thoughts of her missing friend, what with her job as a journalist for the Silas Herald and her job as Velocity. She wasn't the only hero, definitely not. There were her friends, who happened to be a trio of heroines, the Summer Society: Danny, Sarah Jane, and Natalie. Not to mention a hero called the Krusher, who Laura had yet to come across, but he seemed like a sweet guy.Unfortunately, though, there were also plenty of villains. The most dangerous and renown was a group called the Lophiiformes League, led by Madame Crow, with three other villains rumored to be her children.

Laura's thoughts were interrupted by LaFontaine calling her from the living room. She went to greet them, always glad when she got to see her friends.  
  
"Hey, L! How's your article on the city library possibly achieving sentience going?"

Laura grimaced. "I had to go visit and almost had my arm cut off by the library catalogue. I left after that, which means I'm gonna have to visit again since I didn't exactly get everything I needed."

LaF chuckled. "I could go with you next time if you want."

"Oh my gosh, that would be great, actually! You'd be doing me a huge favor," Laura beamed at her friend.

"Of course," LaFontaine sat on the couch. "Speaking of favors, I've been meaning to ask you," they hesitated.  
Laura sat down across from them and smiled, leaning forward, her arms on her lap. "Yeah?"

"Well, an old college friend of mine called a few days ago, she's been having some trouble finding a place to stay, permanently or temporarily, at least until she finds another place. And I might of told her I have a friend named Laura Hollis who would probably be happy to help," LaF gave Laura an apologetic smile, and Laura frowned slightly, leaning back on the couch.

"Why did you tell her that? You didn't talk to me about it first."

"I know, I know, I should of asked you first. It's just she's already been staying at a hotel for almost two weeks, and I'd let her stay with me and Perry but they never got along back in college and our place is kind of crowded already. And, well, I was hoping you'd help? Plus, I kind of already set it up for you to pick her up tomorrow."

"LaF, I don't even know this girl," Laura commented, already feeling her willpower crumbling.

"I know, but it would just be for a few weeks at most, just until she gets a more permanent place," LaF replied, with pleading eyes.

Laura sighed. A few works couldn't be so bad, right? And she would be helping someone in need. "Okay, okay, she can stay, for a month."

"Yes!" LaF grinned, pumping both fists in the air.

"What's her name?"

* * *

 

Laura was on her way to the Styria Hotel, where she was supposed to meet up with LaF's college friend, until her phone's police scanner app notified her of a robbery happening at the Silas Cafe just a few blocks away. Laura took a sharp left and parked her car in an alley, changing into her supersuit quickly, meaning it was probably a blur if anyone were to have seen it. She was at the site of the crime in a matter of seconds. She saw a larger-than-average panther lazily making its way out the entrance of the Cafe, a bag of what Laura assumed was filled with money, glaring at any civilian who dared to get too close. A brown-necked raven perched on the windowsill of the entrance to the establishment, neck craned in Laura's direction, staring straight at her. Panthera and Ravenous, two out of four of the Lophiiformes League. Translation: _crap_.

Laura--Velocity-- charged at Panthera, punching her in the side and making the animal hiss and shift into her human form, a pale-skinned, dark haired woman in a skin-tight supersuit, a mask covering her entire face except for red lips curved into a smirk. "You heroes just love to ruin the fun," the villain drawled, making Laura scowl.

Velocity charged again, knocking Panthera against a wall and knocking the breath out of her. Panthera kneed the heroine in the gut with a sneer. At the sight of the continued violence against the other villain, Ravenous shifted from the raven and into her human form, a dark-skinned woman with an air of arrogance and grace and very similar attire to Panthera. Velocity had been momentarily distracted by Ravenous' shift, and Panthera used that to her advantage, utilizing her telekinesis to send the hero flying into a car parked near the sidewalk. Velocity's head had hit the side of the car hard, and it took her a few seconds for the painful fog in her brain to clear up, but by the time she could see clearly, Ravenous had lifted into the air, Panthera in her arms along with the bag of money.

"Damn it," Laura groaned.

* * *

 

Laura walked into the Silas Cafe a few minutes later in a pair of jeans and her Gryffindor sweater, her supersuit safely tucked in a hidden compartment of her car. She figured since she was already late for the meetup, she might as well get some coffee, and maybe some cookies. She was pretty bummed out that the villains had gotten away, but she was gonna try to not let it ruin the rest of her day. She was definitely giving the Cafe a big tip, though.

She was heading to the counter when all of a sudden she was really _scorching hot_ , because coffee is freaking _scorching hot_ and a very attractive woman spilled it all over her and oh my god _ow_ (sometimes she didn't understand how she was a superhero after moments like this).

"Better watch where you're going, cutie," the woman said with a smirk, extremely apathetic even though she just spilled _hot coffee_ all over Laura.

"I--you," Laura's face turned redder than it already was from the heat. "You spilled coffee all over me!"

The woman let out a low, amused chuckle. "Relax, cupcake."

Oh gosh, Laura cursed whatever god there was that this woman was so attractive with her perfect voice and perfect skin and perfect leather pants.

"Don't call me that! My name is Laura!"

The woman raised an eyebrow at that. "Laura...Hollis?"

"Yeah!" Laura went from angry to confused. "...how do you know my name?"

The other woman's smirk returned, "I'm your new roommate, sweetheart."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd ya think? Thanks for reading :D 
> 
> ~Kit  
> tumblr: 8kit


	2. I Told You She's Not That Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Carmilla is totally annoying and a raging bad person but at the same time not really, and Laura meets the Krusher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERe COMES KIRSCH MY BABY!!!  
> THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!!!  
> ~Kit ^-^  
> Tumblr: 8kit  
> 

**_Chapter 2: I Told You She's Not So Bad_ **

 

"You're--you're Carmilla Karnstein?"

Carmilla gave Laura a nod, seeming highly entertained by Laura's beyond conflicted expression. Laura was totally not amused at the fact that she had blindly agreed into letting this leather-clad raging bad person stay with her.

"Well, if you're going to be staying at my apartment, the least you could do is apologize!"

"Mm, and why should I do that? I was just walking, cutie, and you happened to be in the way."

Laura clenched and unclenched her fists, taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. She wasn't sure if it was the whole villain thing from earlier or the coffee currently dribbling down her favorite (and now ruined) sweater, or just the fact that Carmilla Karnstein was the rudest person that Laura had ever met. She had never been this easily angered about anything before, and frankly, it freaked her out. How is it that one person can get under her skin so quickly, within the time-span of barely a minute?

"It's your coffee that spilled and ruined my sweater!"

Carmilla's nose scrunched up in displeasure as she glanced at the shorter girl's top. "In that case, I might have done you a favor.That sweater is ridiculous."

"You're so--so rude!"

Some people around them were beginning to stare, so Laura let out a groan and angrily stalked past Carmilla, who grinned wickedly and followed.

"Come on, it's no big deal, cupcake, just a sweater."

Laura walked up to her car and fumbled with the keys. "Do you have like, no sympathy whatsoever?"

"Well, I--"

"Don't answer that!" Laura got in the car and slammed the door. Carmilla raised an eyebrow at her and took her time walking over to the other side of the car and sliding into the passenger seat.

"...well, it's definitely been great to meet you, creampuff."

Laura groans, and puts her favorite station on in the hopes that Miss Jerkface will stop being such a jerk. Carmilla rolled her eyes at Laura's choice of music.

 "Do you always listen to the most vile Top 40 you can find?"

 _That's it._ "You know what, just stay at your stupid hotel!"

Carmilla slowly leaned back into the seat and glared at Laura, her tone cold, "Fine."

Neither of them spoke, the car suddenly filled with awkward, angry tension. Laura's car screeched to a stop in front of the Styria Hotel, and Carmilla opened the door before the car had even fully stopped, making Laura yell out a _hey!_ but Carmilla ignored her and stalked off into the building. Laura frowned and drove off.

She wasn't going to deal with her, she definitely wasn't. She was super rude and sarcastic and so darn broody. Laura was just going to have to apologize to LaF, and Carmilla? Well, she was just going to have to find somewhere else to go.

Laura's internal rage-y rambling continued up until she reached her apartment. She made herself a cup of hot cocoa, which she definitely needed after such a bad day. She laid back on her bed with her laptop, realizing she really needed to finish that article on the localized rain of spiders going on in the north side of the city. Her anger started to fade away as she worked, and she found herself feeling off.

Laura wasn't sure why, but she was starting to feel pretty bad about going back on her word. She had promised LaF she'd take Carmilla in, and Carmilla was a friend of LaF's. A very rude friend, yes, but ugh.

Plus, it was kind of terrible of her to leave someone that was sort of, technically homeless. The girl was living in a hotel. Hotels aren't exactly cheap accommodations. And when Laura thought about it, just because Carmilla was rude, it doesn't change that fact that Laura wasn't.

Laura groaned out loud and closed her laptop. She was totally going to go back, wasn't she? _Ugh._

* * *

 

Half an hour later, Laura stood in front of the door to Carmilla's hotel room. She might have used her powers to take a quick look at the receptionist's computer for the room number.

There was music blaring from the room, some obscure, shady underground band, Laura was sure. She was kind of not sure what to say to Carmilla, but Laura decided she'd just have to wing it. She knocked on the door, and after impatiently waiting a few seconds without any sort of response, she knocked again, a lot harder. She heard an irritated groan, and then the door opened and there was Carmilla, in the same outfit she was in a few hours earlier, except _no pants_.

"What do you want?"

Laura turned red, "Uh, do you always answer the door in your underwear?"

"I do when there's unwanted visitors that I don't care to dress for," Carmilla crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

Laura sighed, "Hey, look, I realized that it was wrong of me to go back on my promise. You can come with me if you want."

Carmilla's eyes widened a bit, seeming a bit surprised, but she quickly went right back to her apathetic expression. "Well, I don't exactly want to reside in the same space as you, cupcake, but it seems your offer is the only other option I have."

Laura rolled her eyes, "Okay, so I'll wait in the car, unless you need help with your stuff."

"I'm fine," Carmilla smirked. "I'll be right down."

* * *

 

 Laura opened the door to the apartment. Carmilla only had one large suitcase and the backpack slung over her shoulder, which Laura found a bit strange but didn't comment on.

"So, that's your bed. I hope you don't mind sharing a room," Laura pointed at the bed on the other side of her bedroom. Carmilla hummed in acknowledgement, slid her suitcase under the bedframe, threw her bag on the bed, and then jumped on it, mumbling a "goodnight, cupcake" and curling up on the mattress.

Laura smiled (she'd definitely deny it later, though).

* * *

 

 Carmilla was a terrible roommate, which Laura had expected, but seriously. She leaves hair in the shower drain, she's always laying in Laura's bed, and she completely disregards Laura's chore wheel. Plus, she's always stealing her food and her cocoa. Her _cocoa!_

It had barely been a week and Carmilla had managed to drive Laura insane with her sarcastic comments and rudeness and her always coming in at early hours of the morning just to sleep through the day. If it wasn't for the fact that Carmilla sleeps half her life away, Laura would've exploded already.

"Aw, come on L, she can't be that bad," LaF awkwardly put their hand on Laura's shoulder, not really skilled in the whole 'comfort' thing. Perry had been listening to Laura rant while cleaning up the bathroom, and she emerged from the room, taking off her gloves. "You know, you should be talking to Carmilla about all of this. Communication is a very important part of every relationship."

"It's not exactly easy to have any sort of conversation with her," Laura sighed.

"That sucks, seeing as you talk so much," LaFontaine chuckled and Laura rolled her eyes with a smile. "But really, once you get to know her, she's pretty cool. Carmilla was the first person I came out to, actually--"

"Sharing old stories with Lauronica Mars and Ginger #2?" Carmilla strolled in, looking like she had just run a marathon and then fallen face-first in dirt. She tossed a package in Laura's direction, Laura yelped in surprise but caught it, looking up at Carmilla questioningly.

"It's that stupid sweater," Carmilla pointed at the box. "Thought if I got another one you'd stop whining about it," Carmilla smirked and disappeared into the bedroom.

"Told you she's not that bad," LaF grinned at Laura.

Laura was trying to come up with some sort of verbal response instead of just staring at the box in her hands, but her thoughts were interrupted when her phone chimed, the sound that notified her of some sort of danger happening. "Um, I gotta go, my boss wants to see me about something," Laura put on her jacket, took her bag, and ran out the door.

* * *

 

Velocity was on her way to an apartment complex on the North side of Silas, where it seemed someone had intentionally set the building on fire. When she arrived, there were hundreds of people surrounding the building, various police officers and firefighters were trying to get the crown to disperse, and a few ambulances on standby.

She ran behind the crowd and didn't slow down, running up the building and up to one of the highest floors. She immediately heard kids yelling and checked all the rooms, finding two toddlers crying in the corner of their bedrooms. She took them in her arms and rushed back down the side of the building, handing them to two paramedics. She ran back up and checked the apartment, not finding anyone else. She checked the rest of the apartments, running into some firefighters who would nod at her and continue their job. She brought down about two dozen other people in the span of a minute. The whole building was practically shaking and her vision was sketchy because of all the smoke threatening to steal all the oxygen away from the atmosphere, and furniture and ceiling were all on the verge of collapsing. She made her way to another floor and just as she breaks down the door to another apartment, a guy in a blue supersuit and matching face mask appears in front of her, making her scream and punch him in the jaw.

"Ow! Woah, I'm on your side, bro! I'm the Krusher," he yelled out so he could be heard above the crackling sound of fire and parts of the building crumbling. He flexes his muscles and smiles. As soon as he seems certain that Velocity isn't gonna attack him again, he gives her a goofy grin, "You take the rest of this floor since it's going down faster, and I'll take the floor below!"

Laura nodded at him and he rushed off. _So that's the Krusher._

She ran through that apartment, not finding anyone. A ceiling fan blade grazed her side as it fell and Laura winced in pain and barely managed to escape the room before the ceiling collapsed. She made her way to the next ones on the floor, sadness barreling down on her as she discovered three dead bodies in one of them. She set aside her emotions and ran around the rest of the floors, grabbing a few other people before meeting the Krusher at the entrance, who was helping a limping and coughing teenage boy over to an ambulance.

"Velocity!" he came over to her, ash and dirt covering in his face, but he was still smiling.

Laura gave him a sad smile. All of a sudden she felt really exhausted.

"You did good! We saved almost everybody!" he told her as they walked off down the street.

"Yeah, _almost_ everybody."

The Krusher gave her a sympathetic look, "Hey, we might be super, but we're not perfect, right?"

Laura appreciated his attempt at comforting her, although she didn't really feel that much better about it, "Thanks."

Laura wondered what exactly Danny had meant when she complained all those times about the Krusher being some sort of giant a-hole. He seemed like a really sweet guy.

"Hey," he whispered as they were almost out of sight from the commotion. "my name is Kirsch," he slipped off his mask for about two seconds and grinned, revealing dimples and the face of a rather cute young man around her age. He quickly put the mask back on.

Laura was a bit shocked. Heroes didn't tend to reveal their identity so quickly, if at all.

"Oh, it's okay if you don't want to take yours off. I just thought super-bros should stick together, you know?"

"Of course," she smiled. She held out her hand for him to shake, "I'm Laura."

Kirsch's grin widened and his eyes sparkled as he shook her hand, "Nice to meet you, little Laura!"

* * *

 

Laura opened the door to her apartment and threw herself onto her bed, wincing at the new injury she had forgotten she had. A certain broody girl yawned and sat up in bed, glancing at Laura with hazy eyes.

"What happened to you?" Camilla rasped, her voice thick with sleep. Laura felt goosebumps dance down her spine at the sound of the other girl's voice, and she rolled her eyes at herself. _Yes, okay, brain, you're sexually attracted to your roommate, I know. Now stop._

"I, uh, got clipped by a bike messenger." Carmilla furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Laura.

"You're bleeding," she stood up with a sigh and rummaged through the bottom drawer of Laura's nightstand, pulling out a first aid kit.

"How did you know that was there?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, cupcake, you have a habit of stuffing all your cookie containers in your drawers and leaving them wide open," she said, disappearing into the bathroom and came back out with a small, wet cloth. Carmilla grabbed a chair, sitting at the edge of Laura's bed. She reached for the hem of Laura's top and then paused, staring at Laura pointedly and raising an eyebrow. "May I?"

"Yeah, okay," Laura replied. Camilla lifted her shirt up enough to see the injury, "But you really don't have to do that."

Carmilla scoffed, "You're annoying, but I wouldn't want you to get injured further. A bedridden Laura is something I really do _not_ want to deal with."

Laura decided to ignore that comment, "Seriously, though, I'll be fin-- oh _wow_ that's cold!" Laura stiffened at the practically freezing cold towel, grimacing at the sharp sting of pain as Carmilla used the towel to apply pressure on the wound. She then silently cleaned the wound of any dirt with soap and some water. After she seemed satisfied with her job, she took out a bandage.

Laura just watched, a little bewildered at this side of Carmilla. Carmilla placed the bandage, making sure it was on correctly before throwing the first aid kit back into the nightstand and standing back up.

"Uh, thank you," Laura laid on her back and looked up at Carmilla as she put on her jacket and slipped on her boots. "So, in the spirit of all this new-found closeness, maybe you could tell me where you go all the time?"

"Well, I have to keep some of my secrets. Otherwise I'll lose my air of mystery, won't I?" Carmilla gave Laura a smirk as she left the room.

 

_Was that...? Was she just... **flirting?**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHH I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT I FREAKING LOVE KIRSCH. AND CARMILLA. I LOVE THEM. I LOVE THEM ALL. ALL OF THEM ARE GEMS. WHAT DID YA THINk? :D  
> ~Kit


	3. Interruptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one with a Kirsch POV, an anxious Laura who is desperately trying to avoid having a certain conversation with Danny, and a Carmilla who is (to Laura's relief), constantly interrupting aforementioned conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *SCREAMS INTERNALLY* O:  
> :D

_**Chapter 3: Interruptions** _

**KIRSCH**

"Aw, shit!" _Another burnt chicken._ Kirsch yelped in pain when he accidentally touched the stove. He took the pan off the stove and threw it in the sink before switching off the stove.

For some extremely annoying reason, he just couldn't cook chicken, which was a huge bummer because it was practically his favorite food. He took the pan with the burnt chicken and slid the meat into Porter's dog bowl, watching as the Pitbull-Labrador mix ran over and immediately chomped down on a piece.

The only meals that Kirsch could decently cooks were rice, mac n cheese, scrambled eggs, and packets of soup from the supermarket (and grilled cheese but Kirsch figured that didn't really count). It totally bummed him out because he wanted to be an independent, capable guy and all. He guessed he probably needed more practice in the whole cooking thing.

He took out his phone and called for some Chinese takeout before wiping up all the olive oil that he had spilled on the kitchen counter. Kirsch totally hated cleaning, but he'd kind of promised himself he'd keep his place clean in case anyone ever visited or something (except for his bedroom) (his bedroom was a complete mess).

He was washing his hands when someone knocked on the door, and he dried his palms on a towel before opening the door, grinning when he saw Danny.

"Hey, D-Bear!"

Danny rolled her eyes, "Don't call me that."

"How are you and the Summers?" Kirsch opened the door and stepped aside so Danny could pass through, and she sat on a barstool, leaning her elbows on the island tabletop, looking around Kirsch's apartment as if she expected to see blueprints for an evil underground lair. Kirsch really hoped Danny wasn't gonna do the whole "I-don't-trust-you-because-you-were-a-villain" thing again. It hurt him.

"We're good. Actually, we heard about that fire last night. We were wondering if you didn't just so happen to have caused it."

Kirsch frowned, "No. Why would I do that?" _Ouch_. He swallowed the knot in his throat. "I met Velocity, though. She's really awesome," he smiled and sat across from Danny, before getting up again abruptly, almost knocking down his chair. "Oh, do you want water or something? I have Gatorade and Sprite too." He almost forgot, he had to be a good host and stuff.

"No thanks, Kirsch. Look, just... just watch it, alright? Just don't do anything you'll regret."

Kirsch sat back down and pulled at his hair in frustration, "I'm not like that anymore. It's been almost a year, I'm not gonna--"

"Look, I'm just doing my job Kirsch. I've gotta make sure everyone is safe," Danny stood up to leave.

_That's my job too._

"I--" Kirsch looked down at his hands then back at Danny. He forced a smile, "I ordered takeout if you want to stay a bit."

"I already ate. Maybe next time," Danny took a quick look around the apartment and then one last glance at Kirsch before leaving.

Porter jumped up and pawed at Kirsch's lap with his paws. Kirsch smiled and rubbed the dog's back, wondering how long it'd take to win everyone's trust back. What do I have to do to prove I'm not the bad guy anymore?

Kirsch grinned as an idea began to form in his mind. He knew exactly what he was going to do. It was risky, but it might just work.

* * *

  **CARMILLA**

Carmilla was pretty fucking tired of having to run over to Mother every time she called for her, but of course she hadn't done anything about it. If she ever betrayed Maman her identity would be exposed, which would probably land her in prison, and if not prison then her dear mother would probably do everything in her power to fuck up any life Carmilla tried to make for herself. So maybe she was being smart. Or a coward. She wasn't sure. The only thing she was sure of is that her sister Mattie was family, and pretty much the only person Carmilla trusted, and she didn't want to lose that.

That's why she had helped Mattie set afire that apartment building, but she definitely didn't want to think about that. It wasn't something she had enjoyed doing, and she was glad those dimwit heroes had gotten most everyone out before the whole place blew up.

She tried to get rid of those thoughts as she sighed and went through the back door of Mattie's house.

"A little late, aren't you, sweetheart?" Carmilla's mother was sitting at the dining table with Mattie, a leg elegantly posed over the other and one hand holding a wineglass, her blonde hair and business attire immaculate as always.

"You called me on short notice. I was busy," Carmilla muttered and sat on an armchair right next to the table, crossing her legs in the chair. Her mother glared at her, probably disapproving of the way she was sitting but Carmilla was having a crappy day, and frankly, didn't give a shit.

Mattie cleared her throat, "The Baron has given us another target."

Carmilla scoffed, "Are you kidding me?" she glanced at her mother. "What are we, servants? Why does this old man have such a strong hold on you anyway?"

Maman wasted no time in delivering a hard slap to Carmilla's cheek, probably leaving a bruise, Carmilla was sure. She winced slightly and lowered her feet from the chair. _Okay, Maman is in one of_ those _moods_.

Mattie stared at her from behind their mother, probably trying to telepathically ask Carmilla why the frilly hell she decided to question Mother. Carmilla didn't really have an answer. She just got sick of it all sometimes.

"Your job is to do what I tell you, not question it. It's the least you could be doing after all I've given you," her mother reminded her.

Carmilla nodded and decided she should probably keep her mouth shut.

Mother flashed her a smug smile and sat back down, folding her hands over her knees. "Now, as I was going to say--"

"Hey, Mattie where did you put the chocolates?" Will barged in, stuffing the remains of a donut into his mouth, "they're not in the usual cupboard," his mouth was open as he spoke.

"Close your mouth, William," mother turned to him, "Did you get what I asked for?"

"Oh yeah, here," Will took the folder that was tucked under his arm and handed it to Maman.

Mother opened the folder and smiled viciously as she looked over the contents. "As I was going to tell you, this is your next target," she took a page out of the folder and held it out for Carmilla to see, a picture of the person she'd have to kidnap.

Carmilla felt like her heart had caught in her throat. 

* * *

 

Carmilla opened the door to the apartment, rolling her eyes at the sight of Laura and one tall as heck ginger woman sitting on Laura's bed. Carmilla instantly decided she'd call her Ginger Giant. Or Clifford. Or both. Yeah, both.

"What a surprise!" she lazily dropped her bag on the floor, efficiently catching the attention of the now-irritated ginger and a relieved-looking Laura. "Tell me, Hollis, how many gingers do you know? I'm starting to think it's some sort of fetish."

"Just the three, Carm," did Laura just call her Carm? "How was your day?" Laura looked slightly overjoyed to see Carmilla, the polar opposite of their usual dynamic, which made Carmilla raise an eyebrow at the smaller girl. She noticed Laura was nervously avoiding the ginger's gaze and seemed... uncomfortable?

"I'm alright. Now who might this be?" Carmilla smirked at Laura and the giant redhead. Clearing out rooms was Carmilla's specialty, and Clifford definitely had to go.

"Oh, this is my friend Danny Lawrence. Danny, this is Carmilla."

The ginger named Danny glanced at Carmilla, seeming unimpressed. "Hi."

Carmilla looked Clifford up and down with an amused glint in her eye. "Impressive, sasquatch. You're almost my height sitting down."

"Jabs at my height? How original." Carmilla just tilted her head to the side.

"No comeback? I'm wounded."

"Too bad. It seems someone already wounded you, anyway. Did you do something they didn't like?"

Carmilla's expression hardened and she glared at her, "None of your business."

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" Danny jeered, sporting a smirk of her own.

Laura seemed to have been reaching an even higher level of anxiety after each comment, "Uh, Danny--"

Danny looked back at Laura, looking _almost_ apologetic. "Sorry, Laur," she glanced at Carmilla for a second before giving Laura a smile. "How about we talk later?"

"Yeah! Yeah, sure," Laura smiled, although Carmilla noticed Ginger Giant obviously had a thing for Laura, and Laura still looked obviously uncomfortable.

Danny grinned at Laura and ignored Carmilla as she stood up and left the apartment. Laura seemed to sigh in relief and gave Carmilla a small smile, as if... thanking her? Whatever. She just found Ginger #3 extremely exasperating and wanted her gone.

"Wow, cupcake, you really know how to pick 'em," Carmilla exclaimed. As much as she doubted Laura had any feelings for the ginger giant, she did want to rile her up a bit. Laura looked over at her, confused.

"What do you mean by...?"

"Your gigantic girlfriend, of course," Carmilla slid onto Laura's bed beside her and smirked a bit as Laura stiffened briefly and licked her bottom lip, an action that she seemed to do sometimes when Carmilla got particularly close.

"She's not my girlfriend. We're just friends, okay?" Laura looked genuinely upset now, and Carmilla rolled her eyes, raising her hands in mock defeat.

"My apologies, sweetheart."

Carmilla sighed, feeling really tired all of a sudden, like the exhaustion from the events of the day might have settled in her bones forever. Unwanted, but there to stay. Just like Mother.

They were both silent for a moment, until Laura glanced at her with a curious look on her face. "Are you okay?"

Carmilla raised an eyebrow, "Why the concern all of a sudden? You better watch out, cupcake, or it might seem like you care about me."

Laura frowned, "Is it so bad if I do?"

Carmilla was admittedly a bit surprised. Is she just being polite? Why would she care anyway? She shook those thoughts away. Laura shouldn't care about her regardless. It'd only get her in trouble.

"Maybe not, but it's definitely not a good idea," Carmilla muttered.

"Why not?" Laura scoffed and looked at her curiously.Carmilla really wished she'd stop asking so many questions.

"Don't worry about me, cutie," she got up and stretched her limbs languidly, "I just had a bad day is all."

"What happened?" Carmilla groaned and turned to face Laura, realizing the little nerd wouldn't leave her alone unless she got some sort of answer.

"My mother and I had a disagreement."

Laura crossed her legs on the bed and seemed to perk up a bit at the fact that her question had been answered. "About what?"

Carmilla rolled her eyes, "I said some things she didn't like," she busied herself with changing out of her jeans and into shorts, not missing the sight of Laura's pink cheeks.

Laura cleared her throat after a few seconds, "So, not living up to expectations?" Carmilla met Laura's eyes in barely hidden surprise as she sat on the edge of her own bed.

"Something like that." _More like being obligated to meet those expectations._

The corners of Laura's mouth lifted slightly, "My dad has always expected a lot from me. And he was overprotective, still is. I felt a lot of pressure and I was a bit of a... troublemaker, which didn't help," Carmilla raised an eyebrow at that and Laura gave her a sheepish grin. "It'll be okay though. Hopefully your mom will figure out you're your own person and not what she wants you to be."

Carmilla nodded and smiled. Laura beamed at her in return, making Carmilla chuckle. Laura could be as annoying as Willy Boy at times, but it was different on her, and because she always had such good intentions it was sort of... endearing.

* * *

 

**LAURA**

Laura was curled up on her bed watching Doctor Who. It had been a few days since Danny had come by and Laura had had an actual conversation with Carmilla that wasn't filled with lewd or sarcastic comments. Laura had seen those times the other girl's closed exterior had cracked to show other sides of Carmilla; warmer, more genuine sides. And Carmilla had smiled. Actually smiled.

It made Laura a bit lightheaded just thinking about it. It's not that she had a crush or anything, she just liked the idea that maybe she could be friends with her. It seemed like Carmilla might not be used to people caring about her, and that made Laura even more determined to try and befriend her.

There was a knock on Laura's door and she got up to open it. She had forgotten Danny was coming over for lunch and was internally panicking at the sight of the ginger, but she smiled anyway. _Crap, if she was going to ask me out last time and didn't get the chance to, I doubt Carmilla will be here to save me a second time._

"Hey, Danny!"

"Hey, Laur! I know you've been busy and tired from work and all so I thought I'd bring the food here instead of us going out," she grinned and held up three boxes of pizza and a six-pack of grape soda. Most of it was mainly for Laura. Super-speed meant super-metabolism, which added up to Laura having to eat the equivalent of approximately 14 boxes of cookies' worth of calories when she used her super-speed (so pretty much daily) (it really put a dent in her wallet).

"My saviour," Laura exclaimed playfully, motioning for Danny to come in. They sat on the couch in Laura's living room, Danny set all the boxes on the coffee table. Laura immediately dug in and Danny let out a laugh before taking a slice.

"Eventful day?" Laura had already finished her second slice and nodded as she grabbed a third.

"There was a hit and run. Emphasis on the run."

“Was it a super or just some regular civilian asshole?”

“Civilian,” Laura grabbed a fourth slice, while Danny took her second slice, still very amused. Laura rolled her eyes at the redhead.

“Sorry, I just can’t believe this is you eating _slow_. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that you can eat an entire pizza in a minute.”

“Hey! I can do it in 9 seconds!” Laura pouted. Danny snorted, “Have you seriously timed yourself on that?”

“Maybe,” Laura mumbled, taking a fifth slice of pizza.

“Honestly though, Hollis, I know I’ve said it before, but super-speed is an impressive power.”

Laura cheeks warmed and she ducked her head down. “Thank you.”

Danny smiled, and looked like she was gathering up the courage to say something. “So, Laura, I wanted to ask--” the door swung open and Carmilla sauntered in, looking like she didn’t have a care in the world as usual. She raised an eyebrow at the both of them and a smirk graced her features.

“Well, hey, cupcake,” she looked at Laura and then Danny, “Clifford.”

Danny looked so furious Laura was sure the vein in her forehead was gonna pop. “We were having a conversation.”

“Oh, was it private?” Carmilla taunted, grabbing a slice of cheese pizza and sliding onto the armchair across from them.

Danny fists clenched, “Actually, y-”

“Oh, we were just talking about how our day went, nothing big,” as much as Laura didn’t really appreciate Carmilla’s rudeness, she was very grateful that the broody woman had once again saved her from an extremely awkward talk. Danny shot her an irritated look and Laura pretended she hadn’t noticed it.

“Actually, Laura, I wanted to ask you something,” Danny told her, visibly trying to calm down. She glared at the leather-clad girl, “Privately.”

“Oh?” Laura’s voice was a few octaves higher than usual.

“Yeah,” Danny looked a bit nervous all of a sudden. _Oh. Shit._

Carmilla cleared her throat, and raised her wrist, glancing down at an imaginary watch. “I almost forgot. I have to be anywhere but here. My apologies,” she exclaimed, tone obviously sarcastic as she stood and gave them both a faux-sweet smile before grabbing her bag, leaving the apartment.

Danny smirked and mirrored her sarcasm, “Oh, that’s too bad. No, come back.”

Laura frowned, “Don’t.”

Danny raised an eyebrow at her. “What? Why not?”

“She’s just kind of just had it a bit rough these past few days,” Laura had noticed that Carmilla’s outings had been much more frequent and she returned in the same mood as the last time Danny had been here. Laura guessed it was probably because of Carmilla’s mother.

“Oh, no. You are entirely too sweet,” Danny teased, giving her a playful smile.

Laura was pretty much internally combusting. Should she just tell Danny she wasn’t interested and get it over with? Would it be less hurtful for Danny if Laura told her that before she asked her out? Laura really didn’t want to hurt her feelings, and she definitely didn’t want to lose a friend. Before she could figure how exactly to say it to her, Laura's phone rang, and she quickly answered when she saw it was LaFontaine calling.

_“Laura, you’ve gotta see the news! That superhero guy, the Krusher, is trying to take on three of the Lophii League by himself. He’s seriously not doing well!”_

Danny had turned on the local news channel when she heard LaFontaine’s loud voice. Danny and Laura’s eyes widened as they both saw Ravenous, Panthera, and Weasel surrounding the Krusher. He being pinned to a wall and then flung through the air like a rag doll, blood oozing from his head and thick gashes on his arms, on the verge of passing out.

“I’ll get the Summers and meet you there,” Danny spoke, standing up. Laura was gone by the time she had finished her sentence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KIRSCH OMG AHH!! :D :D ;D 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!
> 
> ~ Kit ^-^
> 
> tumblr: 8kit  
> 


	4. The Spandex Squad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Velocity and Huntress fight with the Lophii League, Kirsch gathers up the courage to tell Laura who he used to be, and Carmilla is very ... loopy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silas City has been resurrected!! Can you tell how much I love Kirsch?  
> And verberbbyunFWEFE Carmilla season 3 is today, I'm so excited!  
> ~Kit

> **_Chapter 4: The Spandex Squad_ **

Velocity was beside the Krusher just a few seconds later. His shoulder was jutted out at an odd angle, and he winced from the pain in his bleeding side as she helped him up from the pavement. They were in the middle of an intersection. Night had fallen and it looked like chaos had erupted earlier on. Most of the civilians seemed to have run off, save for a few dead bodies in or near their vehicles. There were dozens of beat up cars surrounding them, and the glass from the windows of the buildings surrounding them were broken, glass and litter all over the pavement.

The Krusher stumbled to his feet and gave Velocity a bloody grin. "Hey, Lady Flash." Laura held onto him and sped two blocks away before letting go of him on the sidewalk. He almost stumbled onto the pavement and his eyes widening as he looked around. "Woah, bro, that's really fast."

"Stay here, you're badly hurt."

"Wait, don't--"

Laura ran back to the intersection before he could finish.

"Well, look who we have here. The fastest woman on the continent! I'm trembling in fear, really, I am," Weasel was a small guy, although very lean.

Velocity scowled as he sneered at her among his fellow villains, a sleek black panther and Ravenous in her human form. Out of the three, Laura really really hated Weasel. He was really good at not being seen, and he was extremely good at sneaking up on you. And to top it off he was the most irritating, disrespectful asshole she'd ever seen. Carmilla was loving compared to him. At least Carmilla was respectful, and had some morals, and wasn't a creep like Weasel.

Before she could respond to the villain's comment, Weasel had lunged at her, mouth twisted in a determined, angry grin. Velocity easily jumped out of the way, only to be forcefully knocked aside by a swipe of Panthera's paw, her claws digging into Laura's shoulder. Laura hit the ground but ran to the other side of the intersection in less than a second, cursing at herself for even being close enough to get attacked. If she were to just run around, would they give up and go home, or wreak havoc elsewhere? Crap, she really hoped Danny would get here soon.

Beside her on the dimly-lit sidewalk, one of the tall, wooden poles that supplied the section of the city with electricity made a crunching sound in the gravel as it shifted, and Laura rushed out of the way just as the cables snapped and the pole hit the cement with a loud thud, the cables crackled and small sparks of electricity flared where Velocity had just been standing. She immediately turned to glare at Panthera, who simply padded lazily towards her with a glimmer in her eye that looked a lot like amusement.

Ravenous chuckled from behind the large panther, crossing her arms over her chest and turning towards her with a holier-than-thou gaze. "We don't mind playing a game of cat and mouse, little hero," the villain smiled viciously at her as she flew on top of a ruined car that had been tipped over. Panthera seemed to smirk at the irony of her comrade's comment. Weasel was nowhere to be seen, which more than slightly worried the small hero. Shoving aside her anxiety, Laura rolled her eyes at the villains and sped forward, her figure a blur of yellow as she punched the panther in the nose before speeding about a meter behind them. Panthera growled at her, her nose twitching as her feline features contorted into what was either anger or confusion.

Suddenly, all the poles surrounding them fell one by one, making crevices and dents in the sidewalks, all of them facing Laura's direction. Shit. Definitely anger.

 _Watch out, Hollis,_ Laura smiled at the sound of a familiar voice that wasn't her own echoing in her mind, and moved away from the panther. An arrow whizzed past Laura and swiftly embedded itself in one of Panthera's hind legs. The feline roared and yanked the arrow out with one strong pull of her jaw, spitting the remnants of the arrow on the ground. The panther looked around for the source of the attack and she growled as soon as she discovered the threat.

Huntress (aka the amazing Danny Lawrence, who Laura was really glad to see right now), with her dark brown and green hood, and her bow and her quiver at her back. Panthera let out an admittingly terrifying growl before pouncing at Huntress. But Velocity couldn't witness Huntress' counterattack, because before she knew it she was on the ground, and Weasel was laughing.

"You're getting a little sloppy, even for you. Maybe you should stop letting other idiots in neon tights fight for you." Laura felt her cheeks turn red with anger. She took ahold of his arm, too fast for him to notice until he was being run straight into the nearest building. One of Danny's arrows then flew past Laura and into Weasel's arm, through it, and to the wall. Seeing he was now stuck, he shifted into his furry namesake and disappeared behind piles of debris.

A high-pitched sonic scream sounded, and all the windows of all the surrounding windows shattered at once, which startled Velocity, and apparently also distracted Huntress, because next thing Velocity knew, Danny was being flung right at her. They both groaned and stumbled when they tried to get back on their feet and failed, their ears ringing.

Ravenous, the source of the deafening scream, let out a dark chuckle. "You little heroes are just too fun to play around with."

 _Get me up high_ , Laura heard Danny's voice echo in her head. She got up to her feet with some effort, still a little dizzy. Holding on to Danny, she ran all the way up the stairs of the building behind them and onto the roof of it in the span of 2 seconds. Velocity then lunged at Ravenous, hoping to catch her off guard. But with the villain's bird-like eyesight, Ravenous was quickly able to see it coming and grabbed Laura by the throat in a chokehold.

**CARMILLA**

Carmilla watched as Mattie held the little fast one-- whatever her ridiculous name was-- and felt herself becoming a little uneasy. Sure, Krusher had been a complete idiot, but Carmilla hadn't wanted the doof to die, so she was relieved the Spandex Squad had shown up. But now it seemed like the heroes were losing, and that wasn't so good. There had to be someone to stop her and Mattie from hurting people. Those dimwits were the only reason she could get some sleep without the guilt eating her up, though she'd deny it if anyone asked. Put simply, she was a coward who hurt other people because she was too afraid of being hurt herself, and she was glad there was someone who cleaned up her messes. She needed to end this fight before Robin Hood and the Bright Yellow Speedster got themselves killed.

She looked around for some sort of distraction, until she noticed the giraffe with the green hood on the roof of a building, an arrow aimed in Carmilla's direction. The panther could have easily avoided the blow, but, with an inwards sigh, she let the redhead hit her target, which happened to be between her neck and shoulders. She roared in pain and tried to yank it out, until she realized she couldn't reach it.

Mattie dug her claws into the little brunette's neck and glanced at Carmilla at the sound of her roar. Carmilla gave her the human equivalent of an irritated shrug and fled the scene before Mattie had the chance to glare at her. She was definitely getting punished by Maman for this later, but at the moment she didn't care.

**LAURA**

 As much as Laura wanted to yell out in victory when she saw Panthera limp off in defeat, she was more occupied with trying to get oxygen in her lungs. Ravenous seemed pretty irritated by her fellow villain's departure which meant more pressure on Laura's throat. Danny quickly shot another arrow, but Ravenous simply held onto Laura with one hand and caught the arrow with the other. Huntress only shot another one right into the villain's hand, forcing her to let go of Laura. Laura quickly delivered a swift punch to the woman's jaw and ran a safe distance away.

Ravenous glared at Velocity, face contorted slightly in pain. "You imbeciles don't know what you've signed up for. If you had any sense you'd surrender before you get the chance to regret it." She shifted, body quickly turning small, skin turning to feathers, arms into wings, then she was gone and out of sight.

* * *

 

Laura and Danny made their way down the street, and Laura was surprised to see Kirsch still there, sitting on a bench and seemingly asleep. Laura smiled slightly despite the ache in her body and shook his shoulder lightly when they reached his side. "Kirsch?"

Danny gave her a bewildered look. "Since when do you know him?" Laura didn't get the chance to answer, but she looked at Danny, a bit confused as to why her friend seemed so tense all of a sudden. Kirsch grumbled something unintelligible, his eyebrows pulled together until they smoothed over and he startled awake. When he saw Laura and Danny, he struggled to get to his feet, the two girls having to help him up by his arms when he threatened to fall face-first into the pavement. "Whoa! Hey, Da-- Huntress! And Velocity!" He grinned and then winced because of the bruises on his face.

"Why the hell did you think taking on the League by yourself would be a good idea?" Danny questioned as they helped Kirsch back on the bench. Kirsch's smile turned into a slight frown.

"Oh, I-- I wanted to-- I thought maybe I could do it."

Laura could tell that wasn't really it, but she didn't comment.

"You could have gotten killed," Danny glared.

"Sorry. I'll be okay thought. I have lots of chicken soup. Well, it's the microwave kind, but it's supposed to be good for when you're hurt. Or is that just when you're sick?"

Laura smiled, "I think so, but it's still a good idea. And maybe next time you can contact us for back up before you decide to take on an entire team of super-villains."

"Or maybe just not do that?" Danny interjected. Kirsch nodded at both girls, a guilty look on his face, "Yeah. Okay. Sorry."

Danny was about to reply, her mouth had opened but then it closed as she seemed to have been distracted. "I have to go, the Summers need me," she stood and readjusted her quiver, pulling her hood over her head. "Kirsch, get some rest," she turned and gave Laura a smile. "I'll see you later." She ran off, illuminated by the streetlamps in the dark of the night.

"Come on, let's get you home, " Laura put her arms under his and helped him up. Kirsch smiled and gave her directions to his apartment. "Okay, hold on. I'm gonna run," she put her arm under his to help him stay upright. "Awesome," Kirsch grinned at her and held on to her waist.

* * *

 

 Kirsch opened his apartment door. "Thanks for the ride, little Laura."

Laura smiled, "It's no problem."

Kirsch shifted from one foot to the other. "Uh, you can come in for a bit if you want? I could order takeout or something if you're hungry. I'm pretty hungry so I'm gonna order something anyway."

"Sure! I'm starving actually."

**KIRSCH**

About half an hour after having helped each other dress their wounds and take some painkillers, Laura and Kirsch sat on the couch, masks removed and about two dozen taco wrappers scattered on the coffee table. Laura was going through her 5th can of grape soda.

Kirsch's eyes widened. "Dude, how much do you spend on food? It's gotta be like, thousands."

"Really fast speed equals really fast metabolism," Laura shrugged. She finished her 5th can and glanced at Kirsch, "So...! Why did you decide to take on the whole Lophii League out of nowhere like that?"

"Oh, that!" Kirsch fiddled with the tab of his soda can. "I guess I just wanted people to see me as a real hero."

"A real hero?" Laura, questioned, a teasing but curious grin on her face. "Aren't a real hero already? And a pretty awesome one."

Kirsch's eyes brightened, "You think so?"

"Of course!" Laura's grin turning into a tentative smile, the action accompanied by eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why wouldn't I? Are you okay?"

"I don't know, I mean, I think I am a hero, but I'm not really so sure." Kirsch looked down at his lap for a moment. He wanted to tell Laura. He wanted someone to know and tell him it didn't matter. That he was a hero even if he used to not be. He could trust Laura, right? She was really nice, and she stayed and hung out with him, and she didn't seem mad even though he had done something admittingly not so smart.

"I used to be a villain." Kirsch watched as Laura's eyes widened a bit. "But I'm not one anymore! I know the things I've done were totally not cool! And I want to be a better person, so that's why I wanted to be a hero instead."

"It's okay, Kirsch," Laura put her hand on top of his in comfort. "It's really good of you to have realized that and decided to change for the better. It's admirable! And you're amazing as the Krusher." Kirsch's smile spread slowly across his face as Laura spoke, and the expression threatened to become permanent. "Thanks, Laura!"

He couldn't help hoping that maybe he had found a friend.

* * *

 

 Laura was in her apartment, but she found that Carmilla wasn't, which wasn't really a rare occurrence at all, but she sent her a quick text to check up on her. She had gotten Kirsch's number from him, and she sent him a message too, telling him she had fun hanging out with him, adding some smiley emojis, of course. When Kirsch had told her he used to be a supervillain, it had shocked her, but he was super sweet and kind, and Laura wasn't going to judge him for things in his past. She was proud of him for doing the right thing.

She took a quick shower, and when she was done, Carmilla hadn't answered her text. Laura figured she'd show up in the morning, so she went to bed, falling asleep instantly. Laura woke with a yawn and a stretch, and as had become routine, looked to the side at Carmilla's bed, only to find it still empty. She got up and checked the rest of the small apartment, finding no trace of the broody girl. Laura was officially concerned.

She changed from her pajamas into sweatpants and a t-shirt, slipping on her sneakers as she left the apartment. She had walked three blocks from the apartment building when she spotted the familiar form of her roommate curled up on a bench, her back facing Laura. She approached the bench, equal parts concerned and confused. "Carmilla?"

Laura put her hand on the girl's shoulder and shook it slightly. When that didn't work she shook a little harder. Gaining no response, Laura sighed and bent down in her order to pick her up, bridal style. When the sleeping woman was in Laura's arms, she stirred in her sleep and woke up groggily,almost immediately seeing Laura's face.

"Heeyy, cupcake. Is this how you pick up girls?" she gave Laura a sleepy and slightly goofy smile.

"Are you high?" Laura asked, sufficiently bewildered as she made her way down the sidewalk and back home. Carmilla glanced down at the ground, almost falling.

"Not really. You're not that tall, you know." Another smile, not sarcastic or smug, this time sending a sort of fluttery feeling through Laura. But she rolled her eyes at the girl's words. "I meant drugs, Carm."

"Ohh. I tried drugs once. It sucked."

"Okay, but was that now or--"

"You have a weird face," Carmilla interrupted, eyebrows furrowed. "It's like... not normal. And your mouth is weird too," she pouted just a little. Laura tried not to think it was cute. "Can you make it not weird?"

"I'll, uh, try my best, Carm."

"You're nice." Carmilla was looking at Laura, had been for some time now, and Laura could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Thanks?"

"You're welcome."

* * *

 

By the time Laura had gotten home, Carmilla had fallen asleep. Laura laid her down on her bed, and after a moment of hesitation, pulled a blanket over her too. She looked at her for a moment, letting out a quiet groan as she sat down on her own bed.

Okay, maybe she was sort of attracted to her roommate. That was totally normal, though! Carmilla was obviously really attractive. That didn't have to mean it was a crush or anything, because that would be ridiculous. It's not like Carmilla would ever return her feelings. If Laura had any feelings, hypothetically. Laura nodded to herself, satisfied with her thought process, and got to work on her current article, definitely not getting distracted with thoughts about Carmilla. Or looking at her. At all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada!! ^^ What do you think? Thanks so much for reading <3
> 
> ~ Kit  
> tumblr: 8kit


	5. Things Just Get More Gay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gingers coming through, Carmilla and Laura bond some. Things get gay.  
> (Some minor misgendering of Laf from Carm's mom, in case anyone is triggered by that)

_**Chapter 5: Things Just Get More Gay** _

 

 **LAURA**  

Carmilla had woken up hours after Laura having brought her back, and she had slipped out from the apartment for the rest of the day. Laura, although worried, went to work. The next day Laura woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon, immediately feeling very confused. She did her usual morning bathroom routine and went out into the kitchen to find Carmilla serving herself a plate of eggs, bacon and toast, leaving about a dozen eggs worth of scrambled eggs in the pot and strips of bacon on a plate, presumably for her. Carmilla turned to see her. "Here's your breakfast. You seem to eat a lot so," she vaguely motioned towards the pot and sat down on a stool at the kitchen island with her plate.

"You know how to cook?" Laura inquired, getting over the initial shock and grabbing another plate.

"No, the food just happened to appear there by chance, poptart," the pale woman deadpanned.

"I just mean, I've never seen you cook anything before. You always get takeout."

"I usually don't bother, but I was craving an actual meal and figured you needed one too, lest you drop dead from over-consumption of grape soda, pizza and cookies."

Laura sat down beside her and smiled teasingly, "Well, glad to know you care."

Carmilla only rolled her eyes, making Laura grin. They ate in comfortable silence. When Laura was nearly done with her mountain of eggs and toast, she spoke again, "So, what happened yesterday?"

Carmilla got up to wash her empty plate,"I was drunk, fell asleep on the way home," she shrugged, and then added as a hesitant afterthought, "thanks for getting me, although the picking me up wasn't necessary."

"Well, you didn't seem like you could walk, Carm," Laura replied. She wasn't sure Carmilla was telling the truth about what had happened, but she wasn't going to push for info. Carmilla paused momentarily, muttering something unintelligible under her breath.

"What?" Laura questioned.

"Nothing," she dried the plate and retreated to the bedroom, leaving the apartment a few moments later.

* * *

 

"I was near an alley and I saw the bird one, uh, Ravenous. She attacked like four people. Then she turned into a bird and grabbed a dude by the neck and flew away with him."

Laura looked up from her notepad, "She kidnapped him?"

The young man she was interviewing nodded, "Yeah, that's what I think."

"Okay, thank you for your time," she got up and left her work building, stopping near the entrance and taking out her phone to text Lafontaine.

[Interviewed LL crime witness. He said R took a guy, maybe kidnapped him. Maybe Betty too?]

_[!! I'll look up to see if there's similar crimes. If that's true and they're connected to Betty we have to find out where the LL is, they have to have some sort of base]_

[I'll look around for an HQ]

* * *

 

**CARMILLA**

Carmilla put down the nearly empty KFC chicken bucket and stretched her arms and legs out on the couch, watching yet another episode of OITNB. She had come back to the apartment soon after Laura had left, realizing that if she wanted to avoid her family, staying indoors was her best bet. She had gone out yesterday to get some groceries for Laura's practically empty fridge, and then hung around the city, not really having been up for interrogation from a tiny journalist just yet. Her hand still hurt, but she was glad those fucking awful painkillers JP had given her were finally out of her system. She was pretty sure the young scientist had given her too high a dosage, which had unfortunately left her a little loopy.

But now Laura probably thought she was an addict or an alcoholic or something, which wasn't really the best impression. Not that Carmilla wanted to impress her, but she figured she shouldn't add "addict" to "arrogant", "slob" and whatever else Laura probably had on the Reasons Carmilla Sucks list. Maybe it was best that way, though. It wouldn't do Laura any good to get close to her, anyway.

She didn't know what she had been thinking, making breakfast for her. Now the girl knew she cared. Carmilla had barely just figured that out for herself. And Laura had called her "Carm" again. She wasn't sure when they had gone from semi-hostile acquaintances to actual friends, and had no idea what to do about it.

There was a knock on the door, startling Carmilla from her thoughts. "You there, Karnstein?" Lafontaine asked loudly.

Carmilla groaned and got up from the couch to open the door. "What is it, ginger?"

"Can't a pal check up on a gal?" Laf grinned, coming in and sitting on the couch.

"I suppose so," Carm replied with a roll of her eyes, sitting down beside them.

"How's living with Laura?"

"It's fine," Carmilla shrugged, picking her feet up on the couch and crossing her legs.

"Got a job yet?"

"...No," Carmilla frowned slightly. "I... forgot about that." There had been so much going on in the past month or so since she moved in with Laura that job-searching had been the furthest thing from her mind. She felt a little guilty.

"Ah," Lafontaine nodded, "It's okay, I know you must have... a lot going on, with your mother and all."

"Mhm," Carmilla hummed noncommittally, not particularly interested in getting into the subject of her mother. She didn't want Lafontaine to be there either. It made her feel anxious. And very guilty.

Lafontaine fiddled with the sleeve of their shirt and cleared their throat, "and I know it must be tough, being part of the Lophii League."

Carmilla tensed at the words, "What?"

"I know you're part of the League. And well, from what I've heard about your mom, I kind of guessed. It doesn't really seem like you want to be in it. I could be wrong."

Carmilla's mind was racing. She hadn't replied, and she didn't think she could deny it. It's too obvious now. She sat up and looked down at her boots, her posture rigid. "How did you know?"

Lafontaine smiled apologetically as she spoke, taking her response as the admission it was. "Back at the university when we used to room together, sometimes I'd find cat hair. And a lot of the League crimes coincided with the times you weren't at the dorm. After some time I put two and two together. You were always snarkier after a crime Panther was involved in. And you absolutely despise your mom," Lafontaine paused. Carmilla still wouldn't look them in the eye. She simply couldn't. "Look, it's okay. I've been studying all the supers for years, all their fighting patterns, their strength, their limitations, all of that. And I know yesterday you saw Huntress about to hit you, and you could have blocked it, but you didn't. You tend to avoid harming anyone, unlike Ravenous and Weasel. You're not seen as often as they are either. You don't like it, right?"

"I... no, I don't."

Lafontaine put a hand on the woman's shoulder. "It's your mother, yeah? She threatens you?"

Carmilla was gripping on to the sides of the couch tightly, jaw clenching with tension when Lafontaine's hand rested on her shoulder. Her eyes were starting to burn with tears that wanted to fall. Maybe she would have been able to talk to them about it. If only Lafontaine wasn't her target.

"It's nothing I can't handle," Carmilla shrugged them off. Then a new thought came to her, one that frightened her more than she thought it would. "Don't tell Laura."

"I won't," Lafontaine assured.

"I think you should go."

Lafontained opened their mouth to protest, but then seemed to think better of it. "Alright. Call or text if you ever need me."

As soon as the door closed behind the ginger, Carmilla pulled her knees up to her chest. She didn't know how she could possibly kidnap them now, if she would ever have been able to do it before. Her phone rang in that moment, and Carmilla panicked when she read the caller ID. "Mother?"

"It seems I haven't yet received the little scientist. Why is that?"

"I've-- I've been busy. Just haven't had the time."

"Well you better find the time, Mircalla."

Carmilla bit her lip. "I could just as easily grab some unsuspecting dimwit from the streets, Mother. Why--" _why my friend?_   "Why Lafontaine?"

"I have plans for the scientist. She's proven useful. Which is why I need you to get her. And I won't have any more discussion on the subject. Unless you'd prefer I send William instead?"

"No!" Carmilla blurted. She panicked slightly. Her brother was worse than shitty and would often harass his targets before turning them in to Maman. "No, it's fine. I'll do it."

"Good." Her mother hung up, and Carmilla flung her phone against the far wall, watching as it fell to the floor in pieces due to the force of her pitch.

* * *

 

**LAURA**

Laura got home to see Carmilla sprawled on the couch watching a show on Netflix. It was unusual for the girl to be home at this time, so Laura was surprised. "Did you stay here all day?" she asked, noticing Carmilla looked more downcast than she'd ever seen her.

"Is that a problem?" Carmilla snapped back. The more open, almost nice woman from that morning was gone and Laura was bewildered and curious to know what could have possibly happened between then and now.

"No, it's just you usually stay out 'til late. Are you okay?" Laura replied, sitting on the other end of the couch, Carmilla occupying the other majority of it.

"I'm fine," Carmilla refused to look at Laura, only paying attention to the screen. Laura was getting increasingly worried. She didn't really know where Carmilla went or what influenced her change in mood, but she wanted to. She wanted to know more and be able to comfort her, wanted the woman to trust her. She noticed the broken cellphone on the floor. "Is it your mom?"

" _It_ is none of your concern," Carmilla gritted out, glaring at Laura at the mention of her mother.

"Carm," Laura sighed. "Okay. Will you at least tell me what you usually do when you're out all day? Too much mystery is not really effective, you know," she teased.

Carmilla rolled her eyes but relented after a moment. "I suppose it's not. I don't always go someplace in particular. I go to museums, and often to the library. Sometimes I go to the park and sketch."

"I knew you'd be the artistic broody type."

"Ha," Carmilla deadpanned, before adding, "sometimes I visit my sister."

"You have a sister?"

"Her name is Mattie," she said with a shrug. "She's alright. I have a brother too, but he's an asshole."

Laura smiled, "See? Now I know more about you. Conversation is a part of friendship, you know."

"I wasn't aware we were friends."

Laura frowned for a moment, "Well, I mean, we could be. We live together, so it would be nice."

Carmilla sighed, "I'm not sure what your definition of nice is, creampuff."

Laura rolled her eyes, "You pretend to be all cool and disaffected, and I don't know why, but I know you care, okay? And I think of you as a friend."

"Ugh, as long as we don't have to do each other's hair and talk about boys," Carmilla responded in an apathetic tone, smirking.

"See, I'm going to pretend I heard:  _Gee, I do care, Laura. I think of you as my friend too!_ " Laura spoke enthusiastically, grinning at Carmilla as the broody girl tried to conceal a smile.

"Right. Well, I'm going to pretend that just didn't happen," Carmilla stopped trying to hide her amusement. Laura gave the girl a wide smile, and blushed when she received a smile in return. Then there was a knock on the door and Laura answered it, finding Danny on the other side.

"Oh, hey, Danny! What's up?"

Danny smiled at the shorter girl, but she seemed really nervous. "Hey, Laura. So I was passing by and I was thinking... I-- I really like you. As more than-- more than a friend. And I was wondering if you'd like to maybe go out sometime?" Danny said, a hopeful smile on her face.

"Oh!" Laura smiled anxiously. This has been exactly the scenario she had hoped she could avoid, and she was at a loss of what to do. "Uh, see the thing is, uh... Carmilla sort of already asked me out and, um, I said yes."

Laura heard a loud _"What?"_ from behind her and turned towards her roommate with a pleading expression on her face. Carmilla shot her an incredulous look for a quick second before clearing her throat and fixing her expression into a faux smile. "I didn't expect for you to tell the Ginger Giant."

Danny's face switched from shock, to hurt and then finally settling into anger. "I can't believe you-- you barely even know her. We've been friends for over a year now and I-- but you meet her and just after a few weeks you're going on a date?"

Laura's eyes widened at Danny's change in demeanor. "I-- Danny, I'm sorry."

"You should have made a move earlier, Clifford," Carmilla interjected, smirking from the couch, seemingly enjoying the situation now, despite the impromptu act she was putting on.

"This isn't any of your business," Danny glared at Carmilla.

"Oh, but it is. I'm the one taking Laura out, aren't I?"

Danny clenched her fists, "You arrogant _prick_."

" _Ookay_ , Danny, I think you need to go and cool off, okay? I'm sorry," Laura put an arm on Danny's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, but Danny only pulled away and turned to leave with a pained expression. "Fine, I'll go."

Laura closed the door and cursed under her breath. "Oh God, I don't think I handled that very well," she buried her face in her hands.

Carmilla scoffed as she sat up on the couch, "You think?"

"I didn't want to hurt her by telling her I don't feel the same way. I didn't think it through. And now I probably made it worse," she groaned. "I'm sorry for dragging you into that."

Carmilla shrugged, "Don't worry about it, cutie."

Laura smiled slightly, but was still distraught.

 

**CARMILLA**

Seeing that Laura still looked pretty down over the whole Raging Redhead thing that just happened, Carmilla stood up to make the nerd some cocoa, seeing as that's what Laura seemed to do when she was having a hard time, like when she was having trouble writing an article and needed to relax. She came back with the TARDIS mug a few minutes later and sat beside Laura on the couch. "Here," she offered the mug to the other girl.

"Oh. Thanks," Laura smiled and took the mug, looking a little startled. Carmilla smiled slightly, a little lost in her own thoughts.

She was sort of rethinking everything. I mean, they lived together, right? Carmilla was a little naive to think Laura wasn't already a possible target. So, maybe... actually asking her out wouldn't be so bad. It wouldn't change much. Even with... even with Ell, Maman still knew about their relationship, and Carmilla had tried her best to hide it. Maybe it would be better living together. Carmilla had a better chance at protecting her. Nevermind that it was selfish of her. She just couldn't deny that she really liked Laura.

"Oh, what the hell," Carmilla muttered.

"Uh, what?" Laura raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Why don't we... actually go on a date?"

"What?" Laura's jaw practically dropped.

Carmilla shuffled nervously at Laura's outburst. "Well, I mean, why not? You're not all that bad," Carmilla said, and then sighed, "And you're right, I really do care about you."

Laura smiled at her words. "Well, I guess you're not all that bad either," she teased. "I think... a date sounds good."

Carmilla smiled back, "Good."

And then there was a lot of smiling.

"So... you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure, cutie."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did ya think? Thanks for reading!  
> ~Kit


	6. Smash Bros, New Bros, Gay Bros, and Gal Pals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Danny POV (whaaat?), Kirsch meets a new bro, a hangout at Laura's and a reveal, and the Hollstein first date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh, I loathe Danny and her POVs can go to hell but it was needed for the plot. I do love KIRSCH though have I mentioned I LOVE Kirsch?  
> I love pretty much everyone! (except Danny lmao!)  
> Also the whole Supergirl discussion was totally unnecessary but I'm gay and season 2 is awesome so far sooo
> 
> Sorry for being such a slow updater, school and mental illness are crap.  
> Hope you like it <3

**_Chapter 6: Smash Bros, New Bros, Gay Bros, and Gal Pals_ **

****

 

 

 

**DANNY**

 

Danny heaved a heavy, pained sigh that turned into an aggravated curse under her breath as she fumbled with the key to her apartment. When it finally inserted itself into the lock and Danny had successfully entered the home ,she locked the door behind her and slumped against it, letting herself slide down it until she was sitting on the floor and hugging her knees. She was a little tipsy, and really tired, and overall the hurt that the visit to Laura's apartment had caused was proving to be too much for her in that moment. A few angry tears escaped from her eyes and she furiously wiped them away, but those tears were only replaced by others, and then more, until Danny was sobbing into the sleeves of her hoodie.

"Danny? Is that you?" The voice became louder as the young man made his way to the front of the apartment, and his face contorted into a worried expression when he saw his big sister crying. He bent down on his knee and put his hands over her forearms. "Danny?" What happened? Are you okay?"

  
Danny whimpered quietly at the words, and her breathing came out in short bursts as she wiped her face. "I--went to Laura's and I finally had the guts to ask her out," she sniffled, "and she said no."

"Shit," Theo grimaced, "I'm sorry." He pulled her into a hug, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"She's going on a date with her fucking roommate."

"The asshole who looks like a teen vampire?" Theo questioned, remembering an earlier rant about 'Fangface'.

"Yeah."

"Shit."

"Yeah," Danny paused, "I thought that she-- and I-- I love her."

"I know," Theo gave her a pitying look. "Wanna play Smash Bros?"

Danny wiped her eyes once more and chuckled as she stood up. "Did you do your homework?"

Theo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, all done. Can't wait until this year is over."

"Come on, it's not that bad. My high school years were alright," she said as they made their way over to the couch, Wii U controllers in hand.

"Shut up, you were captain of track and basketball and everyone was dying to get in your pants."

Danny smiled and shrugged, "Yeah well, you got me," she leaned forward in her seat, "now come on, we haven't played in a while and I've been dying to kick your ass."

 

* * *

 

**KIRSCH**

Kirsch blinked a few times, trying to clear the tired fog in his brain and actually pay attention to the professor in front of him. It was hard not to zone out, and even harder to understand what the heck the teacher was talking about. Looking at the board and then at his notes, or rather lack thereof, he felt the beginnings of panic start up in his chest and send a burst of anxiety through him. He kind of really had to pass this class. It wasn't really cheap and he didn't really want to pay to retake it, assuming he could even find the money to do so. He was barely affording everything as it was.

He straightened in his chair and took a quick look around the room. There were around 30 other students, a small class, really. Half of them were listening intently, while the others who were sitting in the back were sleeping or on their phones. As he turned back around to face the front, his eyes fell on a young woman sitting up front who was watching the professor with interest, taking notes diligently and even asking and answering questions. She had long, curly black hair and really nice eyes. Kirsch tapped his pencil on the desk uneasily as he looked back at the board. He began to take notes, hoping some of it would make sense to him.

When the class ended and Kirsch was pretty sure the stuff he had written down had to be made up, he stumbled out of his chair in his haste to get up and called out to the girl he had noticed earlier, making sure not to call her a hottie, 'cause that wasn't cool (even though she was like, level ten on the attractiveness scale).

"Hey, uh, bro!" he almost knocked her over in his worry of her leaving before he could talk to her. He stammered out an _Oh, man, sorry!_ and grinned apologetically when he was met with the young woman's unimpressed gaze and raised eyebrow. "Hi! I didn't mean to bump into you, it's just you were leaving and I wanted to catch you before you left. You walk really fast."

"Look, if you're trying to hit on me, I'm not interested," the woman walked around him to reach the door.

"Oh, uh," Kirsch moved out of the way but followed her. "No, I was just wondering if you could maybe help me out because I was super out of it in there and I have no clue what he was talking about."

"So, what, you want me to tutor you?" she gave him an incredulous look as she opened the door to the building and they both slipped out and walked towards the parking lot, the area lit by multiple lamp posts casting a yellow-ish light in the already nearly empty lot, students quickly deserting the place to go home.

"Yeah! It would be really cool of you."

"And you didn't think actually paying attention to the lesson might have been a better idea?"

Kirsch looked sheepish at that, "Well, yeah. I was just super tired. I worked two shifts, and that was like all day, and then I needed to take my dog for a checkup. He's totally okay, though." He, of course, didn't mentioned the pair of muggers he had knocked out in an alley and then dropped off at the SCPD that morning, as well as the car crash he took car of in the afternoon.

The woman glanced back at him, scrutinizing, as they reached her car, and the she sighed. "Alright. I can't help you right now, but I guess if you get here, let's say, two hours early next class, I'll go over the lesson with you."

Kirsch grinned, "Really? Awesome! Oh, can I have your number?" at the girl's hard look, he elaborated, "Just in case you have to cancel, or if I have to cancel, or something weird happens. It's okay if you don't want to give it to me, though, I get it."

"Yeah, I'd rather not. If you don't show up I'll assume something happened. Same with me. No big deal."

Kirsch shrugged, "Okay. Oh, what's your name? I'm Kirsch."

"Mel," she offered before checking the time on her watch, "I've gotta get home, so,"

Kirsch nodded, "Goodnight! Thanks, Mel," he grinned again and sprinted off home.

 

* * *

 

**LAURA**

 

_[Hey frosh, mind if Perr and I come over?]_

[Of course not! Oh we could marathon Supergirl!]

_[Oh god I'll tell Perr to prepare for a lot of gushing over how hot Alex is]_

[Shut up!]

[Is she gonna bring cookies?]

_[Duh. Its Perry]_

* * *

 

Laura was in her PJs and singing along to a song on the radio while microwaving popcorn when Carmilla sauntered into the apartment. Laura smiled brightly when she saw her, "Carm! Hey!"  
Carmilla seemed caught off guard by her enthusiastic greeting, her usual smirk turning softer. "Hey, cutie." She dumped her stuff on her bed and then plopped on the sofa, giving the copious amounts of soda and popcorn the counter a cursory glance before sitting up and groaning. "Please don't tell me the Dimwit Squad's coming over."  
Laura smiled and rolled her eyes, "Laf and Perry are coming over."  
Carmilla groaned again and let her head fall back on the armrest. "Where's the aspirin?"  
"Carm," Laura couldn't help but let out a laugh at the girl's antics. "They're not even here yet."  
"Never hurts to be prepared," the broody woman mumbled.

There was a knock on the door then, and Laura impulsively pecked Carmilla's check, mumbling a _Be nice_ and then quickly moving to open the door, missing Carmilla's flushed cheeks.

"Frosh!" Lafontaine grins and embraces Laura as they and Perry come in.

Carmilla sits up lazily and Lafontaine hugs her too, Carmilla making sounds of protest and glaring.

Laura gives Perry a hug and then takes the container of cookies from her hand with a grin. "Hey, Perry! How've you been? I've missed you! And your cookies. But mostly you, promise."

Perry only smiled good-naturedly. "The bakery's been busy, so both a pain and a blessing," she glances at Lafontaine, who is talking to Carmilla about banana slugs (specifically their penises. Apparently they're as long as their bodies and emerge from their heads) and smiles fondly (although she also grimaces a little), "Lafontaine has been very helpful, though."

Laura grins, "I'm glad!" she turns and leads Perry to the couch. "Okay, so I have popcorn and Nutella and grape soda. And grapes if you want any. I don't know where they came from, they were just in the fridge."

Carmilla gave her an exasperated look, "I bought them. I thought I'd remind you of what a fruit actually looks like."  
Laura looks mildly offended, but more surprised than anything. "You bought all that new stuff in the fridge? You didn't have to."  
Carmilla rolled her eyes, "I'm not even paying you rent yet," she shrugged, "Least I could do."

"Told you she was a decent person," Lafontaine exclaimed, grinning when they received a glare from the pale woman.

"I, for one, am glad you at least have someone with a semblance of a nutritional diet. Maybe she'll be a good influence on you," Perry commented as she sat beside Laf on the couch.

"I don't know, Perr, there's two new tubs of mint chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer," Laura mentioned gleefully as she squeezed on the couch into Carmilla's side.

"Holy crap, why is that in the freezer and not in our hands right now?" Lafontaine's eyes widened.

"We'll eat it later," Laura replied as she put on Supergirl. Perry mumbled something about carbs and preservatives and diabetes under her breath and Lafontaine chuckled. Carmilla put a tentative arm around Laura and Laura bit her lip to conceal a smile as she leaned into her.

* * *

 

"Alright, but Cat is so into Kara. And Kara is so into Cat. That ship can never die, dude. _I_ would die," Lafontaine cried out dramatically, waving their arms around for emphasis. After watching season one, they had all gone on to watch season two, and inevitably had been having an extensive discussion on all thing having to do with ships.

"I do really like Lena, though," Laura mused. "I totally ship Supercorp." 

Lafontaine looked pained, "Yeah but... Supercat."

Perry looked very amused, "Well, they're both very good pairings. And both Lena and Cat are strong, empowered women, which seems to be Kara's type."

Carmilla looked bored. "Why don't all three of them just bang?" she muttered absentmindedly. 

Laf and Laura looked at each other simultaneously. They both grinned and yelled, _"SUPERCATCORP!"_

* * *

 

After the talk about Supergirl and gay pairings had died down some, Perry and Laf started acting strange. Laf would give Perry a look like they were urging her to do something, and Perry would give them an anxious glance in response. 

"Are you guys okay?" Laura questioned after Laf gave Perry a similar look for the third time. Lafontaine raised an eyebrow at Perry expectantly, who fiddled nervously with her fingers. 

"Everything's fine," Perry straightened up to look at Laura and Carmilla. "Everything is quite wonderful, actually. We just wanted to inform you of a not-so-recent development," Perry stated, Lafontaine seemingly attempting to hide a grin beside her. 

"Oh. What's up?" Laura smiled, having a feeling she knew what Perry was going to say. Carmilla had an eyebrow raised, but seemed otherwise uninterested. 

"Well," the curly redhead cleared her throat uneasily. "For the past approximate 3 months, Lafontaine and I have been in a committed romantic relationship."

Laura tried and failed to not squeal. "Finally!" she pulled a glowing Lafontaine and a blushing Perry into a tight hug. 

Carmilla had on an extremely bewildered expression and she sat up. "Wait. Fucking three-- are you serious?You hooked up just  _three months ago_ _?_ Haven't you guys known each other since you were growing your first baby ginger hairs or something? I was under the impression you were already dating. You went to high school and college together and you're living in the same apartment," she shook her head at them, "Seriously?"

Lafontaine shrugged, "Perry wasn't ready. Yeah, we've known each other pretty much forever but first I was figuring myself out and then, so was Perry. It took us both a while. But it was worth it." 

"I've had difficulties with things pertaining to sexuality," Perry added. 

"Yeah, no shit," Carmilla replied, still in disbelief but amused. 

"I'm glad you're happy," Laura smiled. 

"I've also come to the conclusion that I am asexual," Perry muttered. Laf intertwined their fingers with hers and gave her hand a squeeze.

 "So I'm the only one not surprised by any of this?" Carmilla said as she looked at Laura.

Laura was a little shocked but responded by hugging Perry and reassuring her, "That's totally okay, Perry. We love you and support you," she glanced back at the leather-clad girl, "Right, Carm?" 

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Forget sex and all that. Bake more cookies or whatever," Carmilla muttered. Lafontaine joined in on Laura and Perry's hug, and then Laura pulled in Carmilla, who halfheartedly muttered something about constant invasion of personal space.

As they sat back down, Lafontaine glanced from Laura to Carmilla and gave them a mischievous smile, "Alright, so, how about you two?" 

Laura flushed bright pink and Carmilla smirked.

* * *

 

Laura was polishing up an article about the horde of possibly sentient clown statuettes all around the city when her cellphone rang. She saw it was her dad calling and bit her lip anxiously.

"Hey, Dad!" 

_"Hey, sweetheart. I didn't interrupt anything important, did I?"_

"No, just finishing up an article for work."

_"Oh, how is that going?"_

"Pretty good. I'm finally being assigned to relevant stories."

_"I'm glad. That's definitely better news than hearing about you fight with three of the Lophii League."_

Laura sighed, "Dad..."

 _"You could have been killed, Laura_. _"_

"I'm fine, I can protect myself. Besides, I wasn't alone."

_"I know you want to help, but villains are dangerous, especially Madame Crow. You know that. I just don't understand why you keep leaping into danger like this."_

Laura put a hand to her temple and let out a deep breath. She knew what her dad was talking about. He decided to bring it up every single time Laura did something particularly threatening to her life as Velocity. She had always known that her dad would disapprove of her being a hero, and in his defense, he did have understandable reasons. Sherman Hollis simply didn't want to lose her daughter the same way he'd lost his wife. But ever since she was a kid all Laura had ever wanted to do was help people, and when she had gotten older she knew she could finally use her powers for that reason. She was helping people, and she felt it was what she was meant to do. Now she just needed to get her father to understand that. 

"I know, dad. But I'm not going to stop. The League is hurting and kidnapping people, they kidnapped Betty, and I'm going to do my best to help them." 

 _"You're not obligated to do any of this. It's not your responsibility, it's not your job. Your job is to-- to have a good, happy life. A long,_ safe _life. This is not safe. This is walking straight into the fire."_

"Dad-- I'll be careful, okay?"

She heard him sigh, and she felt just a bit guilty for worrying him so much. "I'll be fine, promise. Besides, superhero-ing isn't the only thing going on in my life." 

_"Oh? Is there anything new?"_

"Well," Laura paused, having wanted to change the subject but not really sure what to talk about now that she had succeeded. She glanced behind her at a sleeping Carmilla on her couch. "I, um, have a date tomorrow?"

 _"That's great!"_ Sherman exclaimed, sounding relieved that for once Laura was occupying herself with something that wasn't work or being a superhero.  _"Who's the lucky girl? Is it that tall one, Danny?"_

"No, no, it's not Danny. It's my roommate, Carmilla."

_"Roommate? Since when did you get another roommate?"_

"Um, since like two months ago...? She didn't have anywhere else to go and I thought I could help her out." 

_"So you let a stranger into your home?"_

"She wasn't really a stranger, though! Laf was really good friends with her in college. And I trust Laf to not let me room with any bad people. She's a bit rough around the edges, but she's really sweet and she has a really nice face and she makes me breakfast. She asked me out a few days ago." 

_"As long as she takes care of you and treats you with respect."_

"Of course, Dad." 

_"Anything else I miss?"_

"Not really..." Laura replied, pondering the question, "Oh! Perry and Laf are dating!"

_"It's about time."_

* * *

 

**CARMILLA**

"It'll be fun!" Laura grinned as they entered the roller rink. Laura had been insisting they go roller skating for their first date. Carmilla had immediately declined, to which Laura had responded with sad eyes and a pout, and Carmilla couldn't really handle that. She was definitely losing her edge. It was unnerving, not to mention annoying.

Her irritation faded, however, when Laura took her hand and tugged her towards the counter with a smile that could probably make flowers grow. They got their right-sized skates and both fumbled for a few minutes putting them on, Laura babbling on about childhood skate memories and how good the food smelled and how cute the little kids on the rink looked. Carmilla had been listening, sort of. She had mostly really just been looking at her. And also completely dreading the whole roller-skating situation.

"Okay, come on!" Laura looked so excited, it reminded Carmilla of the Energizer bunny. She stood and walked--skate-shuffled?-- to the rink. Carmilla looked down at her skates and gave them a distrustful glare before standing and hesitantly shuffling to Laura's side near the entrance to the rink. Colorful lights were reflecting off the floors and moving about as slightly outdated pop music blared from unseen speakers. Carmilla didn't realize she had been glaring at the floor, and anyone who passed by, with a frown on her face until Laura spoke up. 

"You know, if you really don't want to skate, we could just go somewhere else, it's okay," Laura said quietly, trying to conceal her disappointment, and gave Carmilla a reassuring smile. 

Carmilla saw this and sighed, "Quit it with the sad face, cupcake, we're not going anywhere. "

Laura bit her bottom lip, unsure, "But you don't really seem to want to be here so," she looked down at her hands. 

"Oh for Christ's sake, I don't know how to skate," Carmilla blurted out, her gaze anywhere but the other girl, finding this whole situation sufficiently humiliating as it was. 

Laura looked up at her, her jaw dropping slightly in disbelief,""That's why you didn't want to come?" and then she laughed, "Carm, it's okay. I'll help you." 

Carmilla crossed her arms as Laura laughed. She muttered, "Glad you're enjoying yourself." 

Laura stepped forward and pulled Carmilla's arms from her chest, running her hands up them, stopping and resting her shoulder. She pressed her lips to Carmilla's cheek. "I always enjoy myself with you! Come on!" 

Laura smirked at the sight of Carmilla's blush and stepped onto the rink with a few awkwardly movements before smoothly turning towards the other woman. "Okay, so when you get on the floor, keep your feet shoulder-width apart and bend your knees a little so you're balanced."  
Carmilla grumbled but did as she said, stepping onto the rink and almost losing her balance a few times before being able to stand still. 

"Good! Okay, what you're gonna do now is kind of like... a duck walk, so like this," Laura demonstrated, and then promptly burst out laughing as Carmilla tried what she had done and fell on her ass. She helped her up, laughing some more when Carmilla let out a grumpy  _No!_ and tried to get away only to have to hold on to Laura so she doesn't fall over again. 

"This is hell," the aggravated woman declared. "How is this fun?" 

"You'll get the hang of it! Here, why don't we try again, but this time I hold your hand," she let go of Carmilla to intertwine their fingers. Laura glided smoothly while Carmilla waddled hesitantly. With Laura to balance her, she didn't fall this time. They skated slowly around the rink hand in hand, Carmilla letting out a slew of cursing if she almost fell or if another skater got too close, until the most of the tension seemed to leave Carmilla's body, although she was still cautious. 

"Alright, I'm gonna let go now," Laura announced, letting go of the other girl's fingers but staying close. Carmilla yelped in protest but was surprised when she managed to keep up with Laura, albeit shakily and at a sluggish pace.

Laura cheered, "I knew you could do it!" 

Carmilla gave her a shy smile, and they skated side by side for another lap before Carmilla took Laura's hand in her's again, this time because her hand was just  _right there_ and it would be a waste not to. They glided along, turning in circles and clumsily bumping into the walls at times. Laura sang along to the songs she recognized and would laugh and smile at Carmilla like she was the greatest thing in the world. It thrilled and scared Carmilla at the same time. When they were finally winded, they left to rink to sit at a table and catch their breath. 

"I'm  _starving_ ," Laura stated, her words punctuated by the sudden rumbling of her stomach.

Carmilla smiled in amusement and stood up, "I'll get some..." she looked up at the menu nearby, "pizza and cheese fries?"

Laura's lit up, "Yes!"

Carmilla came back a few minutes later with an entire pizza, several orders of cheese fries, and sodas. Laura hummed happily and stacked two pizza slices on top of each other before eating it. Carmilla took a slice and watched Laura devour her slices. "I really don't know where all that food goes."

"I work out a lot," Laura replied, grabbing another slice.

"Oh, I can tell," cue the flirty smirk and the seduction eyes.

Laura blushed, "Shush. Alright, so you've never been roller skating. That's crazy. What'd you even do as a kid, then?" 

Carmilla shrugged, "Studied, read, drew. My mother never really liked to go out much and she preferred I focus on my schoolwork."

"Okay, how about relationships then? Were you always this much of a flirt?" Laura teased.

"Definitely. I've had _multiple_ lovers," Carmilla smirked as Laura rolled her eyes but it faded as she continued,"but I've only been in one serious relationship." 

Laura seemed to sense it wasn't a topic Carmilla wanted to elaborate on and only nodded, "I have two exes. They both... sucked. One was an asshole and the other one cheated on me. But that was a long time ago."

"They're both idiots. It's their loss," Carmilla frowned, the idea of someone hurting Laura not one she liked at all.

"Yeah," Laura smiled. "Thank you."

 

* * *

 

"I know you loved roller skating, so you can't fool me," Laura stated as they left the building and stepped onto the sidewalk to walk home.

"Eh, It was okay," Carmilla rolled her eyes and smirked when Laura shot her a glare. "Seriously. The roller skating was okay," she shrugged as and added softly, "Being with you, I loved." 

Laura, not having expected her words, stopped walking, causing Carmilla to bump into her. Laura turned around and suddenly they were face to face, noses almost touching. "Oh," Laura eyes were bright and happy and beautiful, but Carmilla's attention was quickly diverted to very very kissable lips. "I loved being with you too. Honestly, this is the best first date I've ever been on," Laura continued talking as Carmilla pulled her even closer, "and roller skating is really fun and I hadn't done it in a long time and I was worried you'd hate it but you didn't and that's good, so, I, um," Laura's stammered and appeared to forget what she was saying when Carmilla cupped her cheeks, and then kissed her. It was suddenly very hard to believe anything else but Laura existed at that moment. Their noses bumped together slightly, and Laura's arms had somehow wrapped around her. She felt warm and safe and so very light. They both ended up smiling into the kiss and Laura leaned back only to kiss her again, and a second kiss became a third became a fourth and then a fifth until they all blended into one. Only when they seemed to remember they were still out in public did they break away, intertwining their fingers and sharing blissful grins. If Carmilla wasn't sure of it before, it was definitely certain now: she was officially  _whipped_.

 

 

 


	7. Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla finally does what's she's been dreading to do, J.P is introduced, there's a lotta guilt, and Laura does some superhero-ing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally all I did today was write this chapter, oh my gosh. Hope you like it!  
> ~Kit

_**Chapter 7: Guilt** _

 

 

**CARMILLA**

The next morning, Carmilla woke up in an empty apartment, no Laura in sight. The short brunette never left early without leaving a note or a text, and checking her phone, Carmilla had found no messages from her. There was a sinking feeling in her chest as she thought that maybe Laura didn’t enjoy their date as much as she had let on. The night before they had arrived at the apartment and shared warm looks and joyful smiles, as well as a few more kisses, before they both went to sleep, admitting their exhaustion. Carmilla had thought it had been perfect. Laura had even told her it was the best first date she had ever been on. Was she lying just to spare her feelings? Did she wake up regretting it? Did she somehow sense that Carmilla wasn’t good enough for her?

Carmilla stopped those thoughts in their tracks with a frustrated shake of her head. It didn’t matter, at least not at that moment. Besides, Laura maybe had a good reason for leaving early. Maybe she forgot to leave a note. She tended to be forgetful like that sometimes. But what if Laura was in trouble? What if someone who knew Carmilla’s identity had seen them both together, realized that Laura was important to her, and decided to take advantage of that?

She hurriedly got out of bed and dialed Laura’s number. In the living room, she saw that Laura had left the TV on. It was set on a news channel, showing live coverage of Velocity stopping a bank heist. Carmilla let out a frustrated sigh at the sight and shut the TV off with her telekinesis, too aggravated to berate herself over using her powers. Her heartrate spiked anxiously when her call went to voicemail. She sent Laura a text asking if she wanted her to buy pizza for dinner later, not really wanting the other girl to know she had freaked out over such a little thing if everything was fine.

She sat down on the couch, dropping her cellphone beside her and rubbing her hands over her face in anguish. Things didn’t used to be this complicated. The last time she ever felt this conflicted was when she was with Ell, and even then, it wasn’t like this. Carmilla didn’t want to be doing all this anymore. Well, she never did. Never liked being a supervillain, if she was honest with herself. But she had never been driven to stop. There had always been the guilt and the nightmares, but it had never burdened her this heavily. Laura, and Lafontaine, and Perry even, were starting to make her see that she had a choice. She just wasn’t sure what to choose. If she chose to disobey her mother, would it be worth it? Or would it only make things worse?

Reminded of her unfortunate responsibilities and not having received a reply from Laura, she let out a tired breath. Carmilla had been putting off acquiring her target for too long now. Any more hesitation could leave Lafontaine in an even worse situation. In this circumstance, Carmilla really didn’t have a choice. She had to kidnap Lafontaine, the closest thing she’s ever had to a best friend.

 

* * *

 

Carmilla, or rather Panthera, as she had on her supervillain outfit on, pried open the unlocked window to Perry and Lafontaine’s apartment, landing silently in the spotlessly clean living room. She didn’t really have to look around for target, since she soon heard glass and liquid crashing onto the floor noisily. There was a muffled curse and shuffling as Panthera made her way to the room. Lafontaine was clearing a path towards the door by pushing away shards of glass from a broken beaker with their foot until they noticed the dark figure at the doorway. They looked a little baffled for a moment before the expression gave way to a grin. “I can’t believe I get the total honor of speaking to Panthera.” 

Carmilla stiffened at that. She entered the room, glass shards breaking under her boots. “I’ve been instructed to take you to Madame Crow,” was her firm but quiet reply.

Lafontaine took a step back at her words, the grin instantly fading into disbelief and apprehension. “What do you mean?”

“Madame believes you’ll be of use. Of course, I find that hard to believe,” she lets out what she hoped would be a cynical laugh but came out as a hollow chuckle, “but orders are orders,” Carmilla responded, slipping slightly into her villainess persona in the hopes of getting rid of the painful knot in her throat as she fiddled with the syringe in her jacket pocket.

Lafontaine was shaking their head, “You don’t have to do this. I know you don’t want to do this,” they were looking at her, eyes searching and vaguely pleading.

“Ginger, you don’t know anything about me,” she growled, hands beginning to shake. She made them into fists instead.

“Come on, Carmilla,” Lafontaine sighed as they noticed the supervillain had begun to tremble. “I’ve known you for years. When I came out to you, you scoffed, patted me on the back like it was no big deal, changed my contact name to _‘Lafonpain in my ass’_ , and started using my name and pronouns immediately. When Perry was sick, and I told you I was on the other side of town and couldn’t take care of her, you went over to give her meds and chicken noodle soup, even though you always insisted you couldn’t give a crap about what happened to her. I’ve seen you be kind, and I can tell being Panthera is hurting you.  I know you care. And I know you don’t want to do this, okay? You don’t have to. There’s got to be something else we could do. I can help you.”

The guilt raging in Carmilla was only made worse by Laf's steadfast loyalty, as well as their immediate dedication to finding a way to help. “ _Shut up._ There is _nothing_ you can do. It’s either me or Weasel. And trust me, you’d prefer I do it myself. There is no escaping this, because anything else that we try would only turn out worse for you, alright?”  she didn’t give Lafontaine any time to respond, taking the syringe out of her pocket and injecting its contents into the scientist’s neck. Carmilla caught her friend as they went limp in her arms, and put the syringe back in her pocket. She swallowed the lump in her throat and whispered an apology that went unheard. She let herself wonder if she had just ruined one of the only good things in her life, before expelling the thought and leaping back out into the night, an unconscious Lafontaine over her shoulder.

* * *

 

Carmilla gently laid Lafontaine down on the ground of an empty cell and then locked it shut. She turned to J.P, who put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a sympathetic smile that looked more like a grimace. Carmilla didn’t attempt to return it.

“Promise me you’ll do everything you can to keep them safe,” she demanded, knowing well that J.P would, he always did all he could to keep all the captives safe. Knowing well that J.P’s promises wouldn’t mean much when it came to the things her mother would force him to do.

“Of course,” he glanced down at the topic of their conversation, a pained and helpless expression on his face. “And they’ll understand, I’m sure.”

Carmilla didn’t give him a reply. She doubted Lafontaine would understand, or would forgive her. She was having a hard time justifying her actions herself, and a much harder time forgiving herself for it. Instead, she glanced at one of the other cells, the one where that sidekick was being held in, Quick or Brisk or whatever the name was. Velocity’s sidekick. The young blonde woman had become alarmingly skinny, not to mention her skin was grimy and her clothes dirty and worn, and there were multiple bruises over her body in various stages of healing. Carmilla tried not to think about Lafontaine looking like that soon.

Her train of thought was interrupted, though, as she heard the clicking of heals come nearer, and then her mother, Madame Crow, was there, with the same cold, calculated smile in place. There was a certain proud look in her eye as she saw Lafontaine in one of the cells, and then her attention was on Carmilla herself.

“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it? I knew you could do it, sweetheart. Don’t you worry, the little scientist will soon be but a faded memory,” she grinned, “She’s of no consequence, really, I don’t know why you hung around with that one for so long. Besides, in the end, you know who will always be there for you, don’t you?” she set a hand under Carmilla’s chin, forcing her to make eye contact. J.P backed away nervously, fussing over the cells’ control panel.

“Yes, mother,” Carmilla replied, her nails digging into her palms as she kept her hands fisted at her sides.

“I was a little worried you’d defy me again, but I should have known you’d do wonderfully. I’ve high hopes for you. I know you won’t let me down,” the woman stated, giving Carmilla a look that said she expected her to agree.

“Of course not, mother,” Carmilla bristled at the mention of her past _defiance._ Of being with Ell.

Maman smiled in satisfaction and turned to J.P. “Ah, Mr. Armitage. I trust you’re prepared to handle our newest acquisition, yes?”

“Yes, Madame,” J.P nodded, facing his boss.

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve other things to take care of,” she swiftly left the room.

Carmilla lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, feeling nauseated all of a sudden. Thinking about what might happen to Lafontaine was making her sick. It was her fault her friend was in this situation. She did this to them. She was a fucking horrible person, and she felt so lost at what to do about it, about all of it. J.P gave her a worried look. “Are you alright? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“I’m fine,” Carmilla snapped, taking a deep breath afterwards in an attempt to relax, “I’m fine.”

* * *

 

**LAURA**

 

Laura crouched low behind a dumpster as she witnessed Ravenous follow a young man into yet another alley. It had been a busy day, what with the bank heist that had taken all morning, and then a supervillain with gills and scales who called himself Doctor Gills (which was a terrible name, if you asked her) had attempted to kill the mayor. He hadn’t been that much of a challenge, but Laura had definitely been tired out by the day’s events. She had been sidetracked on her way back home by a certain member of the Lophii League, and had followed Ravenous to the alley she was in then.

The villainess cornered the man and injected a dark blue liquid into the civilian. The young man then slumped to the ground. Laura held back the urge to attack, hoping that the guy was merely unconscious and not dead. Ravenous then shifted into her bird form, wings flapping powerfully, causing the litter and dirt in the alley to be displaced. The woman grabbed the man by the legs with her claws and then abruptly turned in Velocity’s direction.

As fast as Laura was, she wasn’t expecting this, and just barely ducked her head back behind the dumpster. A second later, she heard a thud and then suddenly she was pinned between the wall and the dumpster. She gave out a surprised and pained cry. Ravenous cawed viciously and picked up the unconscious man again before flying away. 

* * *

 

Laura stumbled into her apartment, wincing at the pain in the lower half of her body. That dumpster had seriously done a number on her legs. Thankfully it would be healed by morning, but for now it was going to suck.  The sun had gone down hours ago, so Laura had hoped that Carmilla would be either out or asleep.

She had no such luck. Carmilla had been lounging on the couch reading a book, until she caught sight of Laura, that is. 

“Are you okay? Shit, what happened? You’re bleeding!” Carmilla was off the couch and in front of Laura in the span of a few seconds, worry showing in the crease between her eyebrows.

Laura hadn’t really thought of an alibi, “Um, I was,” she let out a nervous chuckle, “you know how clumsy I am. I’m okay, though, it’s not even nearly as bad as it looks, I’m mostly just dirty.”

Carmilla’s concern didn’t seem to have decreased, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, I promise. I just need to clean up. And I’m _starving_ ,” Laura replied as she attempted to make her escape, backtracking towards the bathroom. Carmilla still looked worried, but she let her go.

“I, uh, I bought pizza. I sent you a text this morning about it, but you didn’t answer, so I figured I’d still get it anyway,” Carmilla headed towards the kitchen. “I’ll heat it up while you shower and all that?”

“Crap, I’m sorry, Carm. My boss called me in super early for an impromptu meeting and I totally forgot to leave a note,” she explained apologetically, feeling a little guilty for not having at least answered the text, especially after their date, and also felt a bit guilty for lying. But at the mention of food, she perked up. _Pizza!_ Laura felt like kissing the girl, but she only gave her a grateful grin, “Sounds perfect.”

 

* * *

 

After cleaning up all her wounds and putting makeup on all the visible bruises so no one would think it’s suspicious when they disappear tomorrow, Laura headed into the kitchen, her mood improving at the sight of pizza and a very, very attractive girl.

“That looks awesome,” Laura sat down on a barstool and grabbed a slice, taking a big bite out of it. “ _You’re_ awesome.”

Carmilla smirked halfheartedly as she sat down on an armchair. Laura frowned at the other girl lack of response as she took a second slice.  “How was your day? Mine was alright. Just super busy,” she continued, hoping for a reply this time.

“It was fine,” the pale woman stretched herself out on the chair and grabbed a book.

Now concerned, Laura put down the pizza and swiveled in her stool, “Are you okay?”

She didn’t get to hear her reply, though, because someone knocked on their door sharply. Laura sighed at the interruption and hopped off the stool to answer the door. Unexpectedly, an extremely distraught Lola Perry stumbled in and promptly started looking around the apartment.

“Where are they? If this is some sort of prank they’re trying to pull, it’s not funny,” the curly redhead exclaimed as she finished her search in the bedroom and bathroom and looked at Laura and Carmilla for an answer.

Laura looked perplexed, “Lafontaine? What do you mean, were they not home?” 

Perry became more disturbed by her response. “No, they weren’t home, so I assumed they’d be here! Lafontaine always responds to my messages, except for those times when they get carried away with some experiment, but then, they’re usually at home. And they weren’t home, and they’re not here and I called the university and they told me Lafontaine hadn’t come in since yesterday…” Perry anxiously ran her hands through her hair.

“Okay. I’m sure that Laf is alright,” Laura put her arms around Perry. “We just need to stay calm. I’m going to call Danny and see if she’s seen them, okay?”

Perry nodded, and Laura took out her phone to dial Danny’s number.  Carmilla was standing now, stiff and looking vaguely anxious, and Laura’s heart sank at remembering that Lafontaine was practically Carmilla’s best friend, even though the broody woman would most likely deny it. She was probably really worried as well. Laura hoped that Lafontaine was alright and their battery had just died or something. Her mind kept drifting to thoughts of the Lophii League. What if the League had taken them? What if Ravenous had scooped up Lafontaine like she had to those other innocent people? She bit her lip worriedly as Danny answered the phone and immediately told her what was wrong.

 _“Shit. Okay, I’ll get the Summers and look around the city for them._ ”

“Thank you,” Laura ended the call, and then addressed Perry and Carmilla, “Okay, Danny hasn’t seen Laf anywhere, but she’s going to have a look around nearby and see if she can find them.”

Perry nodded, trying to hold back some tears. “I should, um, go home in case they show up.”

“Okay,” Laura embraced her and gave her the most comforting smile she could muster, “We’ll find them, I promise. I’m sure they’re fine. We’ll stay here tonight in case they turn up.”

As soon as Perry left, Laura turned her concerned gaze to Carmilla, who had already seemed to be in a somber mood. And then she hadn’t said a word the whole time Perry was here, which bothered Laura.

“Hey,” Laura softly, taking one of Carmilla’s hands on hers. “We’re going to find Laf, okay? Everything’s going to be fine.”

Carmilla merely nodded. Laura pulled her over to the couch, taking the pizza box with them and setting it on the coffee table as they sat down. She put her arm around Carmilla and pecked her cheek. “Let’s see what’s on Netflix,” she snuggled up into the other girl’s side and the corner of her lips turned up slightly as Carmilla murmured an _Okay_ and buried a kiss in her hair.

She picked a movie at random, and her mind wandered as she thought about her missing friend. First Betty, and now Lafontaine. It was almost like… almost like the League knew who she was, knew Velocity’s identity, and was targeting people she cared about. She panicked at that thought. Of course, it could be a coincidence. The League was taking multiple people, some seemingly at random, so it could be, it could be a coincidence. Laura hoped so. She thought of Carmilla and fear ran through her. She couldn’t put her faith in a maybe. If it wasn’t a coincidence and the League knew her identity, that meant Carmilla might be in danger too, and Laura would do her best to keep an eye on her, keep her safe. With this in mind, she pressed a kiss to Carmilla’s neck and wrapped her arms around her, nestling closer to her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	8. Strength

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of cute Hollstein, adorable dork Kirsch, a significant amount of angst, and some superhero stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter so far oh my gosh!  
> ~Kit

**_Chapter 8: Strength_ **

 

 

**LAURA**

 

It was the third day since Lafontaine had gone missing. The day before, they’d all gone out to look for them, Perry, Carmilla, Danny, SJ and Natalie. After finding nothing, Laura had done another search as Velocity, which also proved to be fruitless. Perry had told all of them that the only thing she had found in Laf’s lab was a shattered beaker, making everyone think there might have been a struggle. But then again, Danny had pointed out, there was no blood anywhere. Laura had called the SCPD, who informed the group that they would do their best to find their friend.

Laura was extremely worried for Lafontaine. She had had trouble sleeping, and all she could think about was the possibility that Laf’s disappearance may have been her own fault. The night before, Carmilla hadn’t returned from wherever it is she had gone after their search party, and Laura found herself worrying about that too. Carmilla had been so off since the day Lafontaine had gone missing, so aloof and distant. She seemed pained as well, and Laura was at a loss of what to do. She wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be okay, that they were going to find Lafontaine, she wanted to make her feel better. She had tried to talk to Carmilla, but the broody girl had just gently brushed her off. And that was another thing. Carmilla didn’t speak as much, and when she did, there was no cynicism, no sarcastic retorts. Frankly, it freaked Laura out. As much as the girl tended to annoy her sometimes, Laura found she missed Carmilla’s _special_ brand of humor. And she missed her smile. Their interactions had been slightly lacking in the warmth factor, well, lacking in general. Carmilla had preferred to lounge in the living room and read broody philosophy books to compliment her extremely broody disposition instead of talk to anyone.

This is how Laura found the girl when she woke up on the morning of the third day of Lafontaine being missing, one leg thrown over the arm of the couch, nose-deep in a worn hardcover book with the title too faded for Laura to make out. Laura lifted the other girl’s legs in order to sit on the couch, letting both limbs drop over her lap. Carmilla’s quiet grunt of protest was the only acknowledgement of Laura’s presence. Laura frowned and leaned forward to place her head just above the book, her chin placed lightly on top of it. Carmilla raised an eyebrow, clearly unamused, before returning her attention to the words on the page. With a sigh, Laura unceremoniously closed the book shut and took it in her own hands, earning a glare from the woman who had been so intent on reading it.

“Is there a _problem_ , cupcake?” she met Laura’s eyes, an annoyed bite to her tone.

“Kind of, yeah?” Laura replied, slightly exasperated herself. “You’ve been so distant lately, and I’m worried about you, and I miss you.”

Carmilla lowered her gaze, choosing instead to look down at her worn band tee, “I’m fine,” her expression was pained, “It’s just… been a shitty couple of days.”

Concern having turned to sympathy and relief at finally having an actual conversation with the girl, Laura reached for Carmilla’s hand, wanting to comfort her. Carmilla hesitated before shifting so she was sitting close beside Laura, and intertwined their fingers, toying with the thread of one of the tears in the knee of her jeans with her other hand.

“We’re going to find Lafontaine, okay? They’re going to be okay,” Laura assured, biting her lip nervously. She couldn’t shake the feeling there was something else Carmilla was upset about.

“I know,” Carmilla sighed after a moment, detaching her fingers from Laura’s. “You don’t have to do this, you know? I’m fine. I understand if you changed your mind about me. I’m a big girl, I can take it. I don’t need a pity party, or whatever this is.”

“Wait, what?” Now Laura was really confused, “What do you mean, ‘changed my mind’?” With a frown, Laura scoured her memory for whatever it was that could have triggered this attitude from Carmilla. Why in the world would Laura think differently of her? Why would Carmilla believe her concern and care for her was simply pity? They had gone on a date the other day, and it had been perfect, or well, that’s what Laura had thought. Had she said something wrong? She couldn’t think of anything she could have don’t to hurt her. Except…maybe sort of inadvertently abandoned her afterwards like it had never happened, which might understandably make anyone insecure and upset.

“Oh,” Laura groaned inwardly at herself. “God, Carm, I’m so sorry. After our date, we hadn’t even talked at all and then all this stuff happened and… I promise I haven’t been trying to avoid you, and I definitely haven’t changed my mind about anything,” when Carmilla hadn’t responded, Laura reached for her hand again, “Hey. Look at me, please?” Laura fingers caressed the side of Carmilla’s face, willing the girl to meet her eyes. Reluctantly, the girl looked at her with a skeptical but hopeful gaze. “I really like you. And I wasn’t bluffing when I told you that was the best first date I’ve ever been on.”

“Mine too,” Carmilla admitted softly, a cautious smile on her face and the hint of a blush coloring her cheeks.

Laura smiled, “And I kind of really want a repeat of that kiss, if you’re up for it?”

Responding with a fond roll of her eyes, Carmilla tangled her fingers in Laura’s hair as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips.

* * *

 

**KIRSCH**

 

Kirsch opened his apartment door and rushed to the bathroom to shower. He was a little late to his tutoring session with that girl, Mel. He had contemplated for a split second if he should shower, but after getting a quick whiff of himself, he decided the wash would probably be in _everybody’s_ best interest. He had just wrestled an honest-to-god half human, half alligator in the sewers, and he was pretty sure his sense of smell would be skewered all day.

Cursing as he got out of the shower around five minutes later, Kirsch hopped around on one leg as he pulled up his pants and knocked over half the stuff on top of his bedside table. Sometimes he really wished he had super-speed. He put on copious amounts of deodorant for fear that someone might still smell the sewage water on him. He would have put on some cologne too, but for some reason SJ and Natalie had chucked all his _AXE_ in the bin the last (and only) time they’d visited, promising him he didn’t need it. Kirsch had only shrugged and complied. Pulling on a shirt from his dwindling clean pile (he really needed to do laundry) and slipping on a pair of shoes, he grabbed his notebook and pencils from the kitchen counter and rushed off.

* * *

 

If Kirsch was being honest he had expected Mel to be pretty angry at his being late, but as he entered her line of sight, the only sign she showed of being aware of his tardiness was a raised eyebrow and a pointed look at her watch.

“Hey! Uh, sorry I’m late. Do you mind doing the tutoring thing at the café? I’m super hungry.” 

“Yeah, sure,” Mel abided. “Did you walk here?”

“Yeah? Sort of ran this time, didn’t want to be even more late,” Kirsch fell into pace with Mel as they approached a café down the street. “It’s cool, it only takes like half an hour.”

“Geez, you should get a bike at least. You have two jobs, and you walk there too?”

“Oh, I don’t mind! A bike could be a good idea, but I’ve been saving up for a new couch. Porter, my dog, he scratched it up when I was still training him and it looks pretty crappy.”

Mel gave him a strange look, “This is biased of me, but all this this is weird to hear. You totally look like a dickwad frat boy, you know that?”

Kirsch shrugged as he opened the door of the café for her, “That’s okay. I kind of used to be one a few years back. I was like, uh…” what was that word? “Privileged! My family was super rich and when my parents died I got all this money, and I started using it for college and beer and a penthouse all this other stuff and I thought I was too good for a job and then I kind of ended up broke after a while and had to drop out.”

The young woman nodded, “That was… stupid. And then you got your head out of your ass after that?”

Kirsch smiled sheepishly, “Not really. I turned into an even bigger jerk and _then,_ after a while, I got my head out of my ass.”  Mel snorted in amusement at that, and Kirsch grinned, “Oh, hey, do you want anything?” he inquired as he ordered a sub sandwich for himself. Mel declined the offer, and then they were sitting at a booth near the window. Kirsch took a huge bite of his sandwich and opened his notebook to that lesson he understood absolutely nothing of.

“Okay. So, uh,” he flipped to the first page. “I desperately need help. I don’t know what any of this means.”

Mel attempted to hide a smile as she rolled her eyes and took out her own notebook.

* * *

 

 

**LAURA**

 

Laura was bewildered to find that when she exited the elevator onto her boss’ floor in the Silas Herald building later that afternoon, a lot was different. At first, she did a double take and had to check if she was on the right floor; and she was. There were a lot of new faces, everything was rearranged and much neater, quieter, than the usual chaos and bustling that erupted when you had a multitude of reporters trying to get things right for a deadline.

A bit confused and feeling out of place, she made her way to her boss’ office in search of answers, only to find a completely different man sitting in his chair. A much older man, with unkempt, balding white hair and a suit and tie. He was speaking to an editor, a polite smile on his face. As soon as he caught sight of Laura, though, he excused himself and stood.

“Ah, you must be Fraulein Hollis, I’ve heard much about you, from your previous employer,” he grinned and held out his hand for her to take.

“Uh, _previous_ employer?” Laura questioned, shaking his hand. “What happened to Mr. Thomson?”

“He had an unfortunate accident and can’t come to work for a while, indefinitely. It’s a shame, really, all my sympathy goes out to the man, but it’s a great thing that I was able to fill in for him on such short notice, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” Laura agreed, still reeling over the sudden and unexpected change of events.

The man seemed to realize something and chuckled, “My apologies, I am Cornelius Hans Albrecht Lügenbaron von Vordenberg, but you can call me Mr. Vordenberg. Or you can call me ‘sir’, either’s fine with me,” he stated with a charming smile.

“It’s great to meet you, sir.”

“Likewise, Ms. Hollis. I’ve heard a lot about you, you know. I’m sure we’ll get along just fine,” he smiled, almost secretively.

 

* * *

 

**DANNY**

Danny rushed past the multitude of pedestrians in her way, twisting, turning and squeezing in between bodies.  She had been on her to work when she had heard some lowlife trying to take advantage of a young woman behind a gas station. By the time she had turned the man in to the authorities, she had been well over the hour at which she was supposed to clock in. To say she was late was an understatement.

Out of breath and with her heart somersaulting in her chest, she rushed into the diner she labored part time in, almost immediately confronted by her manager. _Fuck._ “Mr. Hennesy, I'm _so_ sorry, there was an emerg-”

Her boss interrupted her with an unimpressed and rather irked attitude, “I'm tired of all these near constant _emergencies_ , Ms. Lawrence.”

Danny sighed in frustration, in a rare instance starting to regret her choice of _hobby_. She opened her mouth to refute but she simply couldn't think of anything to say. She’d already worn out every possible alibi, up until the point where they had become blatantly obvious. And there had been too many promises of not coming in late again, all having been broken eventually, of course.

Her boss heaved a heavy sigh, “Danny. I have to be frank with you, I’ve cut you some slack for months, I’ve given you multiple chances. And I can’t give you any more. I'm going to have to let you go.”

Danny’s heart sank, and she wanted to defend herself, or beg or cry, but in the end she only slumped her shoulders in resignation. “I—I understand.”

“I’m sorry. I hope you have better luck elsewhere,” the man wished sympathetically.

“Yeah, me too,” Danny muttered as she gave him a sad smile and went some of the things she had left in the diner before making her way out. The walk home seemed endless, and every step the hopelessness and the reality of the situation seemed to weigh down on her more.

God, she was angry. She felt utterly defeated and irritated with herself, although she was aware there was nothing she could have done. Not really. Not without putting away her bow and arrow for good, and she didn’t want that. Did she?

She had needed that second job, she needed it. What was she going to do now? They were already months behind on rent and Theo had already had to get a part-time as well, which Danny hated. She wanted him to enjoy his high school years without the added stress of having to work too, since the other parts of his life had been so messed up already. And of course, that wasn’t her fault, the blame didn’t fall on either of them. Their parents’ errors were in the past, they walked out on their children, failed as parents. And it was shitty, and all Theo and Danny could do was move on. And they had. They were doing just fine. She was doing just fine at taking care of him, until now.  Now she didn’t know what would happen. She needed to find another job, and fast. But at that moment, she had to face telling Theo.

 

* * *

 

 Theo was whistling along to some rock band and draining the water from a pot of macaroni and cheese, already in more casual clothes after getting home from school. Danny took a moment to marvel at his growth. Before, when they had just started out living without their parents, Theo had been a sad kid, Danny was pretty sure he had had depression but didn’t have the money at the time to afford a therapist for him. Hell, she was pretty sure she had had the mental illness as well, but they had managed to power through. With time and her help, but mostly his own strength, he had slowly gotten better, and he had improved his grades at school, motivated at the thought of a scholarship. Danny remembered the day when Theo had come up to her, fifteen then, and hugged her tight, thanking her for being there for him when no one else was. Danny had had to hold back tears. It had given her even more strength to keep going, and now after all that, she had to tell Theo she had lost one of her jobs; that she had failed him. 

As she walked into the kitchen she glanced at a pile of letters stamped with big, red, angry letters, another reminder of all the money they owed and of the fact that she no longer had any means of paying that money.

“Hey,” she ruffled his hair as she passed by him and grabbed two bowls from the upper cupboards, setting them on the island counter.

Theo’s face scrunched up playfully as she messed up his hair, and he smiled, “Heya, sis,” he looked at the digital clock on the stove in confusion. “Back early from work?”

“No,” Danny sighed and leaned her elbows on the counter, moving hair away from her face, “I got fired.”

“Oh,” Theo blinked once or twice, and he set the pot back down on the stove, his chest rising and falling as he took a deep breath. He glanced at the newest bill out on the counter and at Danny’s pained expression. “That’s… fuck, okay. Was it, um, the superhero thing?”

She nodded wordlessly and sat down on a stool, letting her face fall into her hands. There was a lump in her throat and she felt like she was choking. She was just helping people. Why couldn’t she be Huntress and live her life too? Why was it like this for her and not for Laura or SJ or Natalie? Why weren't they the ones burdened by this? As the questions continued, it seemed a rage that Danny hadn’t noticed before made itself known inside her. At the thought of how unfair this all was, for a moment, there was so much anger that it threatened to pour out of her in waves. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to help anyone anymore. God, _fuck_ everyone else. She could barely help herself. She should be helping herself. Helping Theo.

“Hey, we’ll be okay. You’ll find another job. I’ll work double shifts weekends, okay?” Theo put a comforting hand on her shoulder and then wrapped it around her neck, pulling her into a one-armed side hug. Danny shook her head helplessly as she rested her head against his chest, anguished tears staining his shirt as she gripped tight onto the fabric.

 

* * *

 

**CARMILLA**

 

Carmilla looked up from her book as Laura closed the front door behind her. She felt the guilt and anxiety well up inside her, a feeling that had now become familiar in the past few days.

“Hey!” Laura grinned as she saw Carmilla, and she set down her things and immediately made her way towards her. The corner of Carmilla’s mouth lifted slightly in acknowledgement. Laura’s face was vaguely hopeful as she sat at the edge of the couch and kissed her on the cheek. Carmilla shifted so Laura could sit beside her, and Laura did, immediately sidling into her side and laying her head against Carmilla. Carmilla wrapped an arm around her. This position had also become familiar, but this was a warmth, a joy, that Carmilla had come to look forward to. Something so simple, but it was one of those things that she had been deprived of for so long. Even with El, commonplace things like those were few and far between, as they hadn’t lived together or spent time in each other’s homes, and they were more preoccupied with hiding from her mother to relax or indulge in quiet moments or domesticity. 

“How was your day?" Laura questioned. 

Carmilla shrugged noncommittally, “It was fine. Searched for Laf for a while,” a _lie_ , “and I applied for a few jobs,” which was not a lie. She had finally gone looking for a place to work, the guilt of freeloading in Laura's apartment becoming way too much with the already crushing guilt about Lafontaine.

“That’s good,” Laura replied with a soft smile, her fingers running down Carmilla’s arm as they made their way towards her palm, and then Laura intertwined their fingers, and she began to absentmindedly rub circles over her hand with her thumb as she spoke, “My day was… a little weird. My boss left all of a sudden, and there’s a new one now. He seems a bit too old for the job, honestly, but he was really polite and kind about the whole thing and he said he won’t change my arrangement to work at home when I need to so that’s good.”

“Hm,” Carmilla turned the page of her book as she played the ends of Laura’s hair with the hand on her shoulder. “What happened to the other guy?”

“He said he had some sort of unexpected accident and he’s in a hospital indefinitely,” Laura said in response.

Carmilla paused, thinking there was something amiss with the words. _Unexpected accident…_

An underlying spike of fear ran through her, the feeling making its way to her fingertips. Something was off. Almost hesitantly, she asked, “What’s your boss’s name?”

“Vordenberg. Why?”

Carmilla couldn’t breathe.

She tried to speak, say something, anything at all, but the words wouldn’t come. She stared blankly at the pages in front of her for a moment.

 

Vordenberg. _The Baron._

_Mother knows._

 

“Carm?”

 

“I--,” she took a breath, “That’s good, I heard he was, a—a good journalist,” she rushed out, forcing herself to breathe normally.

“Oh,” Laura frowned, “I’ve never heard of him.”

“Yeah. He’s… from another country,” Carmilla replied. The Baron had forced his way into Silas Herald, he had probably hurt—maybe killed—Laura’s old boss. The Baron knows Laura is important to her, which means Mother must have told him. _Fuck_. How long had she known? Had she seen them on their date? Carmilla wondered what the Baron was even doing there. He could have gotten that position to spy on Laura, or maybe to _hurt_ her. Or maybe even simply to mess with Carmilla’s head. And if that was the case, it was definitely working. Carmilla had to do something, she had to protect her. This couldn’t happen again. Not with Laura. “Hey, uh, do you know if the Herald is looking for paid interns or a secretary or something?”

“Good idea! I think they are,” Laura smiled, “I’ll check, anyways. I think it’d be fun to work in the same place, wouldn’t it?”  
  
“Yeah,” she forced a smile in return. Laura grinned and held her closer. Carmilla held on tighter in response, but she felt numb.

 

* * *

 

**LAURA**

Later the next day Danny, Carmilla, Perry and Laura were in Lafontaine’s lab. Perry hadn’t touched anything in the room in case there was any evidence, and so they were all searching for any clue to where Laf might be or who could might have taken them. Laura, of course, was almost certain it was the Lophii League, but she couldn’t quite tell Perry this.

  
Danny was inspecting the glass on the floor for the third time. They had all been there for over an hour now, the fact that there was no sign of anything at all becoming increasingly obvious, but neither of them having the strength to admit. Laura and Danny interactions had been awkward and stilted since the whole dating incident, and even now they were avoiding eye contact. It brought Laura down, especially since she could see there was another problem bothering Danny, something other then what was going between them; something heavier. And Laura couldn’t figure out a way to reach out and help.

  
Danny bit her lip and straightened, “Okay, so maybe Laf dropped this beaker, maybe surprised by whoever took them. And whoever it was went up the fire escape and through the window, because it wasn’t locked.”

Laura nodded, not mentioning that this had been stated a while earlier.

Perry trembled slightly as she leaned against a table, “There’s nothing here. And the police, they haven’t found anything. It’s been four days, and _nothing_. They just—they just disappeared.”

“We’ll find them, Perry,” Laura wrapped her arms around the woman. “We’re going to find them.”

Danny nodded, even though Perry couldn’t see, “Laf’s tough. We will find them and they’ll be fine,” she gave a reassuring smile that fell short at Perry’s desolate mood.

Carmilla, who had been fairly silent up until then, came closer and put a hand on Perry’s shoulder, “Hey, come on, Curly. This is Lafontaine we’re talking about. Who’s to say they aren’t already making their way back here, pissed that whatever asshole took them interrupted whatever weird experiment they were on?” Perry smiled a bit, and Carmilla continued, ”Laf’s strong, and too smart for their own good. I’m sure they’re fine. This whole freaking out thing, well, you can settle down. Everything will be fine.”

Perry nodded and her eyes fluttered shut for just a second, willing herself to calm down. “Thank you, Carmilla.”

Carmilla shrugged it off and glanced at Laura for a moment before heading out, “Well, I think I’ve hung around here long enough, I’m going to go back home.”

Laura had been slightly surprised by Carmilla’s words to Perry, but mostly she had felt her affection for the girl grow, smiling as Carmilla had spoken to Perry about Lafontaine.

“I’ll go with you,” Laura said softly as she hugged Perry goodbye and reassured her once again that everything was going to be alright. She gave Danny an awkward parting smile before leaving with Carmilla, taking hold of her hand.

 

* * *

Velocity had immediately rushed downtown when she had heard that Weasel was terrorizing civilians, reportedly with a weapon. It had confused and frightened Laura, since Weasel had never been known to use a weapon before. When she arrived at the scene, she found Weasel aiming a large gun at people, in the middle of a parking lot of a shopping center. He seemed to be waving it around with no particular target in mind. Laura was immediately angered. He appeared to be toying with them for his own sick enjoyment.

“Aw, come on, buddy, you can run faster than that, can’t you?” the villain laughed as an older man with aging hair struggled to move away from the weapon’s line of fire. Since Weasel was not aware of her presence, Velocity used the element of surprise as she charged at him. Her attack worked, and Weasel fell onto the floor. The people around them took this chance to run, except for a handful who decided to risk their life to record the fight on their phones. As Weasel fell, the gun skittered a few feet away from him. Laura immediately grabbed it, but yelled out in pain and dropped it when she felt as if she had been burned. Weasel chuckled and got up, taking the gun himself.

“Oh, that’s got to sting. Let me explain, you see, this baby right here,” he lifted the weapon up and aimed it directly at Velocity, “is _special_. You see, it rejects anyone who’s not me.” With a malicious grin, he continued, “And if you thought that hurt, wait until you feel this,” he pulled the trigger, and a beam of white light shot out, and Laura screamed as it hit her. She felt like she was burning up from the inside out as she was knocked down by the force of the blow.

Weasel was about to hit her again when he paused, lowering the gun slightly as he caught sight of Panthera in her human form making her way over to them, “Come to watch the show, kitty?”

The villain ignored him and scowled, “Where’d you get that? We’re not supposed to be using those yet.”

“Don’t be such a prude, kitty. I thought I’d borrow one and test it out, you know, have some fun. You _do_ know what fun is, don’t you?”

As they spoke, Velocity struggled to her feet, wincing and groaning at the pain in her entire body. Weasel raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, “Ah-ah, where do you think you’re going?” he gleefully shot her again, and Laura let out a curse and gritted her teeth in pain as she hit the concrete once again.

“What are you doing? You idiot, you don’t even know how to use that. You know our orders. We can’t kill them,” Panthera snarled.

Weasel rolled his eyes, “I won’t.”

“How do you know? You don’t know how that gun works. How many hits can she take, huh?” Panthera retorted, getting increasingly agitated.

The man shrugged, and glancing at Velocity standing up again, he answered, “Look, she’s fine, see? She can take a few hits,” he turned to the hero, “Right, Speedy?”

Laura was in a lot of pain, and she was extremely _agitated_ , but she was also very intrigued by their conversation and the new questions that this information brought up. They had not been given orders to kill her, possibly not kill any of the other superheros either, and in fact, they had been told the exact opposite, they wanted them to stay alive. But what did the League want her alive for? What was so important? 

Her thought process was interrupted, however, as Weasel pulled the trigger for a third time, and hero struggled to stay standing this time, but her knees gave way and she was on the ground again. _God_ , that hurt. Her vision was starting to become hazy.

“ _Weasel_ ,” Panthera seethed, hands folding into fists as she glared at the man. “I think that’s enough.”

Weasel simply laughed in reply, “Relax,” he raised his gun to shoot at Velocity again, and Laura clenched her eyes shut as she waited for the pain. But the blow never came, and instead she heard Weasel yell out in agony and surprise, and she opened her eyes to see Weasel on the ground clutching onto his arm, and Panthera in feline form standing near him.

  
“What the _fuck?_ You broke my arm!” Weasel exclaimed angrily, getting up. He reached for the gun again and Panthera bared her teeth and growled menacingly. Weasel glared, picked up the gun, and put it in the holster he had around his waist. He was tense and appeared to be holding in his rage. He left without another word. Velocity slowly stood up on shaky legs, the intense burning ache in her whole body making it difficult. The panther stared at her for a moment before running off.

Laura let out a sigh of relief and then winced at the pain the slight movement of her chest had caused her. There were no visible signs of the gun’s blows, but Laura knew that it was going to hurt for a _while_.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos greatly appreciated, thank you so much for your feedback <3  
> ~Kit

**Author's Note:**

> WOOOOOOO!!!! WHAT DID YA THINK? EH?????  
> THANK YOU!!!! ^-^  
> ~Kit


End file.
